


Little Lies and Secrets

by Ink and Quills (AngelsStingrayGhost)



Series: Hunters Aren't Afraid [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, How the hell do tags work?, Humor, Original Character Death(s), Past Character Death, Past Relationship(s), Past Violence, SOMEBODY HELP!?, Slow Burn, Threats of Violence, and witches, lots o' fluff, vampires man so man vamps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-06
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-05-18 12:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5927953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelsStingrayGhost/pseuds/Ink%20and%20Quills
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pippin and Emmy have just recently quit their jobs and have returned to hunting full time again. They happily look for any excuse to join the Winchester brothers and their Angel, Castiel, on the hunt for a witch that seems to have it out for anyone who looks remotely close to Pippin. But like the Winchesters, the girls have their own brand of bad luck and nothing ever goes to plan. Eventually Pippin decides enough is enough...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Winchester Five

**Author's Note:**

  * For [To my darling Supernatural friend Sami](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=To+my+darling+Supernatural+friend+Sami).



> So I'm super nervous as I haven't wrote fanfiction in a long while and this is currently my first Supernatural fanfiction. I'll probably adjust tags as I go and fix this bad boy up. Anyways I do hope you enjoy but this is mostly my way of relieving stress and calming my ADHD so...chapter updates will be weird.

The motel door slammed shut with a satisfying bang, rattling the shelves along the ugly cream colored walls as Pippin stalked into the room. Her strawberry-blonde hair was an fluffy mess of an elegant bob and the bags under her dark green eyes were made even more noticeable by the pale complexion of her skin. Emmy hardly looked up from her laptop, stationed on the bed closest to the door, before she brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes.

“I’m guessing you found them?” Emmy asked quietly as she closed the laptop with a soft click before pushing it to the side and turning to follow her friends progress across the room. Pip shot Emmy a nasty look that clearly meant yes before she started to pace back and forth across the little space they had between their scattered stuff and duffle bags. She patted her hands against her thighs, a nervous habit, and chewed on the bottom of her lip before Emmy finally couldn’t take how much her friend was pacing. The toxicologist stood up and brought the looping process to a halt before it could repeat again.

“When was the last time you had something like coffee or mint leaves?” Em asked seriously and Pip ran a hand through her hair before deciding it was in her best interest to answer the quiet hunter.

“The Friday before we came back to Oregon?” She answered, almost evasive about it before her shoulders dropped, slouching at last; posture be damned. She had practically run herself into the ground looking for the fricking Winchester brothers and, even though she should have, she refused to pray to Castiel to just take the two women to the brothers location. Pip was much too stubborn to admit that neither of them could find the boys and she would be damned if she was going to give Dean Winchester any type of smug satisfaction. A sudden knock on the door shook the silence and both hunters gave each other a look. If it hadn't been for the fact that Pippin started scowling again Emmy would have most certainly jumped for her sawed off shot gun on the bedside table.

“Was that really necessary?” The low voice asked in exasperation, causing Pippin to lift her head up from where she had decided to finally sit, and she barely resisted rolling her eyes at the men entering the hotel room. Emmy frowned at the three men before she turned her gaze back to Pippin, the older hunter having a retort about to fall from her lips like the Niagara Falls. Instead she hesitated a moment before letting her head flop down on the bed along with the rest of her body as she let out an over dramatic gasp, grasping her own plaid flannel and tank top over where her heart would be.

"Oh God Dean you wound me!" She cried and Dean simply rolled his eyes at the strawberry-blonde before she continued on in her mock dramatic acting voice.

"How about you take that pretty Colt and shove it up your a-"

"Coffee anyone?" Emmy abruptly asked while cutting Pippin off mid sentence and Dean shot a smirk and a nod her way before she turned her gaze away, blushing, to look at Sam and Castiel. She knew Cas didn't need nor want to drink anything so her unnerving gaze was turned fully upon the youngest Winchester. Sam shifted a bit uncomfortably as Pippin moved in the background before he suddenly shrugged in response to the woman's gaze.

"Sure." He said with a small cough and Emmy turned around to begin the coffee while Cas stood awkwardly next to Pip. She closed her eyes in exhaustion, firmly ignoring the annoying older Winchester. If the five vamp hunts hadn't drained all of her patience and energy then finding the brothers had. She wasn't just bruised and sore from the hunts and the searching but mentally she was just done with everybody excluding Emmy, Castiel, and Sam...oh wait that meant she was 110% done with just Dean. That sounded about right. She wrinkled her nose at the strong smell of coffee and she immediately regretted not packing that big bottle of Ibuprofen before they left. She hated coffee and only drank it if she desperately needed it. Normally it had to have been one shitty night for Pippin to tolerate coffee in any form.

"We've got this case here in town." Em started.

"Pip thinks it's a demon but me? I'm thinking it's witches." Emmy's voice wafted from the counter where she was finishing up the three cups of coffee. She whistled sharply and Pippin lifted her head, opening her eyes as well, when Em tossed her a small decorative jar. Pip barely caught it, the jar teetering on the tips of her fingers for a brief moment, before she set it on the bed and opened it. Instantly anyone within a foot or two of the jar caught a strong whiff of mint, the smell tapering off as they adjusted to it. Castiel leaned over Pip's shoulder, his dark blue eyes narrowing slightly as he tilted his head to one side in confusion and curiosity.

"What is that?" He asked in a low voice, oblivious to how Pip straightened suddenly with a small hint of blush brushing across her freckled cheeks as she jumped slightly. She had totally forgetten about Castiel's personal space issue. She shifted around on the bed until she was sitting, with her legs crossed, in front of Cas. The small jar was full of tiny little mint leaves and Castiel leaned in closer, curious as to how it might taste. He'd never seen these delicate little leaves during his time with the Winchesters. A small smile graced Pip's lips and she pulled a leaf out of the jar.

"They're mint leaves. Here try one." She offered and Castiel took it carefully from between her fingers, examining it before deeming it safe and putting it into his mouth. He chewed for a second before his eyes widened almost comically causing Pip to giggle a bit.

"Oh sorry Cas. I might have given you one of the stronger ones like spearmint. I always have three different kinds in the jar for variety." She apologized, still grinning at Cas' reaction to the spearmint. He swallowed and shrugged.

"I just wasn't expecting it to be so...colorful." He remarked and Pippin only snorted at the Angel of the Lord, muttering something he didn't manage to catch.

"Hey did you lovebirds hear a word we said?" Dean butted in and Pip's face flushed red with embarrassment as she turned to glare at the older Winchester.

"I assumed you were just gonna flirt with Em." She slung back at him and the tips of his ears slowly turned red as a faded pink color dusted his freckled cheeks.

"Bitch."

"Prick."

"Pip behave." Em warned as the two older hunters glared each other down before huffing at the same time and looking away at Emmy's words. Yeah behave wasn't a word when the Winchesters were around. Dean needled and teased both woman on purpose and while Emmy could handle it, Dean managed to piss Pippin off in more ways than just one and all he had to do was open his mouth.

"Sam and Dean agree that it's a witch and since we've never hunted a witch bef-" Em started when Pip cut her off abruptly.

"You're the only one who hasn't hunted a witch. I hunted one back before I met you." She muttered tiredly, a dark tone contaminating her voice. Emmy watched her friend for a second longer before resuming her explanation, hiding the fact that the look that had crossed her friends face was...she almost couldn't find the words to describe it. Dark yeah but more foreboding than anything and it sent shivers down her spine.

"Then you can watch my back. Anyways we're going to head out tomorrow and gank them before heading back out with the Winchesters." She explained and Pip nodded in agreement, seeming to like the idea.

"Sounds like a plan." Pip said before turning to the brothers.

"Now shoo so we can actually sleep." She said and Dean opened his mouth to object before Sam elbowed him and shook his head. Castiel reached out to both brothers and in a moment they were gone. Pippin didn't even get undressed as she flopped down into bed and rolled over onto her side with her back to the wall, facing the door and window.

"Hey Pip?" Emmy whispered as she leaned over her friend in worry.

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?"

"Mhm."

"Are you sure? I mean you look sick and when you mentioned that hunt..."Emmy trailed off, knowing not to push too far or Pippin would retreat in herself and try to lie or manipulate her way out of the situation if it was something she wasn't ready to talk about it. Pippin sighed heavily before rolling over and pressing her forehead against the cool wall.  
"It's nothing I'm just drained after dealing with you know..."Pip waved her hand around vaugely before finding the words. "them." She finished lamely and Emmy frowned but didn't press the subject any further than that. She stepped away, out of the small range of the older hunters aura. The difference was immediate and freeing and Emmy couldn't help but sigh at the sensation. She cast one last glance at her old friend before getting ready for bed and pulling up the covers, falling asleep almost immediately.

 

Pippin shot up in the bed, covered in a cold sweat and barely choked back a terrified and pained scream. Dean, Emmy, and Castiel were talking while Sam was taking inventory of their weapons but she noticed both Sam and Castiel were watching her with worried or concerned expressions. She attempted to smile their worry away but only managed a grimace before she got up.

"Ah! Sleeping Beauty decided to join the living." Dean teased and Emmy giggled at the overly dramatic tone of voice he was using. Emmy couldn't help it but the more they talked and joked around the more she fell in love with the hunter. Yeah Em wasn't good with human interaction unless it included geeking out in some awkward way and Dean flirting with her didn't help...like at ALL. It didn't help that he was good looking either, what with the way his bottle green eyes sparkled when talking about certain subjects or the way he ran his hand through his hair, messing it up further. Emmy could tell from her seat that Pippin was seriously considering if she could smite him by glaring at him hard enough. Eventually she gave in with a pout, disappointed that it hadn't worked and moved to get up.

"Em?" Dean's concerned voice broke through the blonde's thoughts and she realized with a start that she was staring at him.

"Um...y-yeah?" She sputtered out, feeling the heat creep up her neck and face at being caught seriously zoning out. Dean looked a little flustered but it could have been been a trick of the shitty lighting. Em seriously doubted it.

"We better hit the road now that Pippi Longstocking has loaded that hunk of metal she calls a car." He responded confidently, getting to his feet and grabbing the keys to his precious Impala. Emmy chuckled at the jab to Pippin's baby while shaking her head.

"Don't insult Ghost Dean." She warned and Dean smirked mischievously at her with that shit eating grin of his as they walked outside. Sitting next to each other was Dean's precious Impala, Baby, and Pippin's prized possession Ghost. The body of Ghost was an obsidian black like the Impala but the factor that made this '97 Chevy Stingray stand out was the purple flames spreading out from the front and sides. Pippin leaned against the driver side door, Castiel nearby, head tilted back and basking in the warmth of the rare sunlight. Emmy squinted against the sunlight, completely concerned for her friends health now that she could see her skin was paler than it should have been. She shrugged it off, knowing Pip would dismiss it as Em needing to get her eyes "fucking checked out because you're tripping balls."

"Ready to go Bubbles?" Pip asked, referencing the Powerpuff Girls for the millionth time that week. Emmy couldn't fight the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth before she rolled her eyes and got in the car. Pippin slid into the driver's seat gracefully before turning the key and hearing the engine roar. Of course she didn't have enough time to enough how her car sounded before her smile became a frown. They heard another engine roar just as loud and Emmy twisted in her seat to see Dean behind the wheel of the Impala with a shit eating grin while Sam was, what seemed like, face palming against the dashboard. Was he challenging them to a race?

"Oh it's on." Pip growled as they lined up evenly at the edge of the parking lot exit and she glanced at Emmy from the corner of her eye.

"Emmy do me a favor and play AC/DC's Highway To Hell." She instructed and Em happily obeyed. Once the music was blasting loud enough for the Winchesters to hear, Pippin took off, burning out a bit before Ghost shot off down the highway like a rocket with the Impala close on his tail.


	2. Witches and Hunters and Angels, Oh My!

Pippin and Emmy were leaning against the Stingray with the biggest grins ever when the Impala pulled up. Dean wouldn't even look at them when he got out, with Sam and Cas in tow. At the moment this was nothing but reconnaissance, a check up to see if they could get information out of any of the locals in the town and look up some reports about the victims. It was time for Pip's Forensics and Em's toxicology to finally pay off. That had been some expensive college books and equipment.Besides taking on a demon or a witch would take time and effort and they wanted to be sure they could handle it without getting themselves killed first. Pippin's smirk just grew as Dean continued to give her the cold shoulder.  
          
        "What's wrong Dean?" She asked, mischief sparkling in her dark green eyes as she pushed open the door to the restaurant. Dean shot her an ugly look before he pushed past her through the door she held open for the others. Emmy broke into laughter as he mumbled something before she responded.  
          
        “I don’t see how we could cheat Dean.” She smiled and Pippin watched closely as Dean’s expression softened for a moment. It was gone in the blink of an eye and before either woman knew it he was flirting with the waitress assigned to take them to their seat so they could discuss their next plan of action. Emmy’s smile fell slightly and she looked unhappy as she watched Dean and the waitress, the waitress leaned in, trying to be seductive, and Dean chuckled at whatever she said. Em turned to Sam furiously and engaged the younger brother in a conversation about the case and a whole lot of other important information that Pip should have been listening too but definitely wasn’t. By the time they had finally sat down in their booth Sam and Pippin had already corralled the two hunters so they had to sit next to each other. No need for Emmy to be pissed at Dean for no reason when Pip was plenty pissed for the both of them. Unfortunately that left Pip with no choice but to sit next to Castiel and she felt her face heat up just a bit while she nearly squirmed in her seat uncomfortably. Calm down Pip. She thought firmly, talking to herself in her head. It’s just Castiel. It's not like he's gonna smite you or anything."  
          
        “Pippin!” Emmy called out as she snapped her fingers in front of the spaced out hunter and Pip was jerked back into reality where she realized that everybody was staring at her in concern. She was tempted to kick Dean in the shins and blame it in a sudden muscle spasm but she couldn't pull it off successfully...yet.  
          
        “Yeah Em?” She asked tiredly and Emmy huffed, a small smile tugging at the edges of her lips at her friend but it wasn’t enough to dispel the worried look on her face. Great now Emmy was pulling bitch face no. 3.  
          
        “Sam was just saying that we should go in and check the most recent victims. Find out if they're related somehow.” She explained quickly as she held her mug of coffee in her hands, letting the warmth seep into them as she took a sip of the blessed nirvana. Pip nodded as she let the information sink in for a moment. Jesus it was still too early for Dean's smug bullshit and- Pippin's head jerked up and she kicked him as hard as she could in the leg, nearly missing his nuts. He hissed and Pippin smiled innocently.  
         
         "Oh I'm soooo sorry Dean. Muscle spasms you know." She said innocently as she turned her head back to Emmy.  
          
        “So we go in as FBI?” She asked and Emmy simply nodded.  
          
        “Yep, unless you think you need to go do some research with Sam and Cas.” He responded and Pippin’s head whipped up, eyes narrowing at the oldest Winchester as his words took a moment to process in her brain.  
          
        “Are you telling me I can't handle a little blood Winchester?” She asked with a narrowing suspicion. Sam, Cas, and Emmy looked back and forth between the two oldest hunters of their mixed group and Dean just continued to smirk.  
          
        “You just look like you might get sick suddenly. I’m certainly not calling you fragile.” He answered, putting heavy emphasis on the word, and Pippin abruptly stood up, startling Emmy and Sam. She leaned over the table separating her from Dean, her palms flat against the tabletop as glared in his direction, her temper flaring up.  
          
        “Dean Winchester I can and will kick your cursed little ass if you are implying what I think you are.” Pip threatened as Emmy rolled her eyes at the sudden show of aggression from her closest friend.  
         
        "Can we not have a pissing contest right now?" Emmy mumbled under her breath, uncomfortable with all the stares from other diners the group was attracting.  
Castiel rested a hand on Pippin’s shoulder and she slowly sat back down, the appendage weighing heavily on her shoulder with unspoken words. Dean, however, wasn’t done being an instigator. He had it out for Pippin ever since they had first met and it had only gotten worse with every moment Pip and Emmy got closer to becoming part of Team Freewill. Emmy took that moment to stomp on Dean's foot as hard as she could without drawing attention to it.  
        “Leave it be Dean.” She whispered as Cas worked on calming down Pippin enough so she wouldn’t feel the need to kill his closest friend.  
        Pippin hadn't said a word til they arrived at the morgue, her anger supercharging the air around her. Emmy practically fled the Stingray once they had parked and they swiftly gained access to the victims with a flash of fake badges and an angry glare from a super pissed Pippin. Emmy and Pippin had changed into their FBI attire. Pippin had a typical suit while Emmy had a suit and pencil skirt. They had needed some variety in their outfits and Em was the only one talented enough to fight in one. Pippin would have tripped over something and killed herself. It was not exactly what they were expecting. As they each opened the drawers and pulled back the white sheets it was clear that whoever had been doing this had no imagination. Pippin snorted in disgust and disappointment as she gazed at the wannabe popular girl. Emmy looked between all their victims before piecing something together Pip had over looked.  
        
        "Pip-Pip..." She started in a serious tone of voice, causing Pippin to look up from examining the woman's cut throat.  
        
        "Yeah Bubbles?"  
          
        "D-Did you notice something strange about all the homicide victims?" Em asked as her voice shook with uncertainty and was that fear? That caught Pippin's attention immediately and she shook her head no, tensing up.  
          
        "They all look vaguely like you." She motioned and her friend frowned, something familiar flashing in her eyes at the newest bit of information. Emmy wasn't lying either. In hair color and body type they with ought a doubt resembled her despite obvious differences. Pippin felt the knot in her stomach return and before she knew it she had her hand hovering over the woman's left cheek. The grace easily revealed a wound that was practically etched into the woman's face. A delicate rose with a very prominent 'V' crossing over it emerged before Pippin violently jerked away at the sight, the wound fading as the grace was retracted away from it. Emmy could only watch in confusion and shock as Pippin paled past being okay and she knocked tools and equipment over with a loud clatter as Dean, Sam, and Cas walked in. Pippin was hyperventilating heavily as she stared in absoulte horror and fear at where the wound had appeared, mumbling incoherently.  
        
        "I...I think I'm going to be sick!" She cried before she lunged away from the metal table that had been her anchor and stumbled towards the nearest bathroom, brushing past Dean during her mad scramble.  
          
        "What just happened and how did I miss it?" Dean demanded as he pouted slightly, unhappy that he missed out on totally calling it. Emmy followed Pip with a worried gaze til she was out of sight before speaking.  
          
        "I-I don't know. There was this wound on one of the girls. She used her grace to remove the glamour and there was a rose with a large 'V' over it carved into the chick's cheek." Emmy explained as Castiel walked over to another and proceeded to do what Pippin had done only moments ago. The glamour was stripped away and the symbol was also carved into her cheek on the same side. In fact all of them had the same thing.  
         
        "Whoever they are they're targeting Pippin." Castiel confirmed.  
         Pippin leaned over the toilet bowl as she panted from emptying her stomachs contents. There were very few things in this world that truly terrified her and the owner of that symbol was one of them. She was obviously being targeted and now? Now she was royally fucked. She cleaned herself up and stumbled back out to meet up with the others. She didn't have an explination for what her brain decided to force her mouth to say next.  
         
        “I'm leaving. Guys I'm just painting a target on all of our backs.” Pip suddenly stated, trying to keep her voice monotone and failing. Pippin’s posture changed as she tensed up, her Grace flaring out a bit at the statement. All at once the atmosphere was swamped by thick emotions of rage, irritation, and melancholy.  
        "You can't be seriously think of running away?" Dean demanded as he crossed his arms over his chest, confronting the terrified hunter.  
          
        “Take your opinion Dean and shove it firmly up your-” Pip began before Emmy’s hand flew to cover her mouth. They did not need another scene like this morning. Dean leveled a glare at Pippin, the dark look made Emmy’s skin crawl and she slowly dropped her hand from Pip’s mouth, taking a few stumbling steps back towards the safety of Sam and Castiel.  
          
        “You're having a fucking temper tantrum because your friend decided to show up and now you're running away.” He snapped back quickly and Pippin’s nails dug into the palms of her hands as she struggled to control her temper. Her patience with Dean was at an all time low. the muscles in Castiel’s jaw tightened as he listened to the arguing of the two oldest hunters. Someone was going to get hurt this time.  
          
        “Fine. I'm running and I'm doing it because I don't have a choice! Now why don’t you take your lily white ass and go whine to someone else?” She snapped back just as quickly and Dean took another couple of steps closer to Pippin.  
          
        “Why don’t you step up and actually do your job!?” Dean’s voice escalated as they continued to insult each other. Pippin took her own step towards Dean, the shorter woman looking up at him while he looked down.  
          
        “I am doing my job! When did you forget that there is more to this than killing the things that go bump in the night Dean!?” She demanded, her own voice rising and Emmy watched her closest friend and the man she had a crush on fight. She was too scared of getting between Pippin and any object in the possession of her ire to interfere.  
          
        “We hunt things and we save people Pippin! We don't get pussy footed at a stupid symbol and run away from the enemy!” He shouted angrily and Pippin clenched her hands into fists as she shook with suppressed rage.  
          
        “MAYBE THIS ISNT A PROBLEM YOU CAN FIX YOU OVER CONFIDENT FUCK! DID YOU EVER THINK ABOUT THAT!?” Pippin finally burst out and Dean snarled at her. He was absolutely done with this cowardly hunter.  
          
        “ENOUGH!” Castiel yelled, finally done with the arguing, but if he thought that would stop the fight he was more than wrong. Pippin was the one who took the first swing and her knuckles connected with Dean’s nose with a sickening crack, causing the oldest Winchester to stumble back slightly as his hand flew up to his nose to cradle it tenderly. Once it registered that she broke his nose, Pippin was already taking another swing only to have it blocked and get a punch that split her bottom lip open. The other three were on them before they could do anymore damage to each other. Castiel pinned Pippin’s arms down to her sides as he hugged her, lifting her up off her feet while Emmy and Sam both restrained Dean from going after her.  
          
        “Dean stop it!” She growled as he went limp in Sam’s grip, Emmy’s fingers digging into his arm, preventing him from trying to get to his gun.  
          
        "JESUS FUCK YOU'RE ALL DEAD BECAUSE NOW SHE'S GONNA KILL YOU TO GET REVENGE ON ME!!!"


	3. Ring Around The Rosey

Emmy groaned as she shifted, something digging against the skin of her wrists. Consciousness slowly returned and when it finally did a shot of adrenaline surged through her veins. Emmy looked around in slowly building panic. Dean, Sam, and Pippin were all bound in what she assumed to be the same way she was, to chairs positioned in a semi-circle. Castiel was dangling from chains with iron cuffs, carved with Enochian sigils to keep him in place and powerless, encircling his wrists. All four were awake and aware so that was some relief. Emmy felt so confused on how they ended up here. She couldn't remember much from last night.  
        The bar-restaurant's jukebox blared some AC/DC as people conversed and laughed, enjoying their meal. Pippin was hunched over at the bar counter, nursing a bottle of whiskey while Emmy slowly rubbed her back in a comfortable circular motion. The repetitive motions seemed to be calming the hunter down significantly as they waited for their killer to show. This bar-restaurant mix seemed to be the epicenter of the activity, a place where the woman disappeared. So Pippin, against her will, was acting as bait. They already figured out it was a witch they were hunting so they had come prepared. Emmy could tell how shook up Pippin still was from the entire morgue incident. They didn't press her any further after her outburst because it was clear that she wasn't ready to talk about what had happened and why she had reacted so strongly to the symbol. Emmy sighed quietly as she brushed her blonde bangs to the side out of her eyes. To be completely honest she was actually scared. Anything that scared her closest friend like that frightened her. How powerful was this witch that it put the fear of God in Pippin? Pip herself was still shaking minutely from earlier before she stood up suddenly.  
         
        "Emberlyn I need some air." She said suddenly, trying hard to conceal the small shake to her voice. Emmy nodded as she stood up along side her. They entered the alleyway that the employees used to smoke and relax briefly during their break. Pippin leaned against the brick wall, taking deep breathes in a desperate attempt to calm her facing heart down. A young woman about Pippin's age came out the door as well. She had half dyed hair, one half platinum-blonde while the other side was a pastel, cotton candy pink that was pulled into an elegant five strand braid. She was dressed for the party scene with black, ripped skinny jeans, a pastel pink crop top under the black leather crop jacket. Her hands and feet were adorned with black fingerless gloves and black high heels. She smiled sweetly at Emmy and Pippin as the two firmly ignored her as best as possible, both of the woman on guard and cautious.  
         
        "Any of you girls got a smoke?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice that put Pippin on edge immediately. Pippin tried to reign in her temper before answering.  
         
        "We don't smoke." She answered coldly and the other woman looked hurt.  
         
        "No need to be so cold." She responded and Pippin snarled at her as her patience ran dangerously thin.  
         
        "We're fucking strangers kid so leave me alone." The strawberry-blonde grind out from behind clenched teeth. The laugh was chilling and sent a forboding shiver down both hunters' spines.  
         
        "Oh but Pippin!" She grinned while Pippin's eyes widened in fear. "We aren't strangers at all!"  
          
        "I'm sure you're all wondering why I haven't killed you yet." The same sickly sweet voice cut through the silence and Emmy jolted forward at the sudden appearance of the woman from the alleyway. Emmy's head swiveled to Pippin next to her and her eyes locked onto her, watching the hunter start to tremble as all the color in her face drained. The woman stepped out from the shadows and smiled at them all, lingering longest on Castiel and Dean. Emmy felt herself bristle slightly when she noticed it but forced herself to stay calm and collected. Her electric blue eyes pierced through each hunter and the angel as she leveled a glare at them. They all glared right back before the woman tsked as she spun on her heel to look at Pippin with a knowing smirk.  
          
        "Pippin it's been so long I nearly forgot my sister was still hunting you." She said in a falsely sweet voice and Pippin connected the dots before any of the others did. Not only did she flinch and grimace but she had also adopted a terrified expression.  
          
        "Vela." She spat out in anger and disgust, trying to hide how scared she actually was, causing the witch to chuckle.  
        "So nice of you to remember me." Vela said with the preppy voice filled with anger and venom. Pippin shook her head firmly as Emmy picked up what was going on and spoke for her close friend as she tried to dig her obsidian knife out of her back pocket. Clearly Vela didn't check Emmy's back pocket like the stupid bitch should have.  
         
        "Rigel forced my hand. "Pippin stated in a dead tone of voice, trying to stall but also insulted by what the older witch was insinuating. Vela laughed coldly before she bent down and straightened out Sam's shirt as he tried to wiggle away from her manicured hands.  
          
        "Get your hands off Sam!" Dean butted in, practically thrashing in his chair against the ropes holding him down. Vela, however, just ignored his angry outburst and continued on.  
          
        "We were the best of friends Pippin. You, me, Rigel, Sirius, and Nora." She started and all the boys froze in shock as their eyes turned to stare at Pip, who firmly ignored them. Even Emmy tried to catch Pip's eyes but she wouldn't look at her either. She was starting to shake again, her stomach churning uncomfortably as her chest ached at the distant memories that arose at the painfully familiar names.   
          
        "You ran instead of killing us like a real hunter would have." Vela recounted as she approached Dean seductively before running a hand down his face tenderly. He turned his head away with a snarl.  
          
        "Don't fudging touch me!" He growled, causing Vela to giggle excitedly before she continued on, walking around the pillar before stopping in front of Castiel.  
          
        "I was going to persuade Rigel to leave you be you know. That Nora had actually asked you to kill her so she wouldn't accidentally hurt us or anyone else ." She stated simply before trailing her hand down Cas' chest while she continued, reminiscing about the past. "Then I found my baby sister with one of these," Vela pulled out Pip's angelblade from her belt. "embedded in her chest, blood everywhere and the light gone from her eyes." She recounted as her hand curled into a shaking fist as she clutched onto Castiel's dress shirt. Pippin's eyes widened at the sight of her angelblade so close to Castiel and she immediately started struggling, angling and tugging at rope binding her wrists the the chair. Vela pressed the tip of the blade into him as she slowly and agonizingly drew a bloody line down his chest with pinpoint precision. Cas grunted in pain as he struggled against his bonds uselessly. Vela pulled the blade away and grinned sadistically at the Angel as he panted slightly.   
          
        "I like this one." She muttered with a twisted smirk and all four hunters watched as Vela winked at Castiel, who glared her down with disgust.  
          
        "You'll warm up to me eventually sweetie." She responded casually to his unspoken threat before she leaned forward to whisper something in his ear. Castiel tried to keep quiet but the agonized yell burst from his throat as Vela pulled away from his shaking and convulsing body.  
          
        "Cas! Get away from him you crazy bitch!" Dean yelled furiously as blood started to dribble down Cas' lips. Vela laughed coldly before she turned around and bent down in front of Sam once more.  
          
        "Hmm...you're cute but not like the little Angel back there." She said thoughtfully before snapping her fingers.  
          
        "Oh I know!" She grinned sadistically but before she could move to hurt him Pippin screamed as she jolted forward, the chair scooting across the cold concrete floor a few inches.  
          
        "You have me tied to a chair and helpless! Just kill me already" She sobbed, trying to save Sam any pain Vela would have inflicted upon him. Dean would never forgive her if Sammy got hurt when she could stop it. The desired effect was lost as Vela formed a claw like shape with her hand and suddenly struck out; nails piercing skin as they were dragged across Sam's throat. Sam cried out in a mixture of surprise and pain as pinpricks of blood bloomed along the red marks and he kicked out violently at Vela. She gracefully dodged it before just giggling at him before standing up and facing Pippin and Emmy, both woman panting with the effort to get out of the ropes binding them back and keeping them from killing the witch, and walked over to Pippin menacingly.  
          
        "You took everything I loved from me." She started before bending down in front of the older hunter, her face a mixture of hurt and anger.  
          
        "I'm simply going to repay the favor." She sighed heavily, not able to hide the sick satisfaction that appeared on her face and Pippin snarled at her desperately. The panic seizing her heart in its grasp and squeezing it until she felt like she couldn't breath. Vela grabbed her jaw, pulling her head roughly to one side and pressed the blade against her cheek, the cold metal causing Pippin's heart to skip a few beats.  
         
        "But first I want you to have a permanent reminder of who took everything from you." She whispered to Pippin before she pressed down hard and began carving a delicate design into her left cheek. Pippin's head was turned so the others could see the rest of her face while Vela worked meticulously on making it as slow and painful for the strawberry-blonde as possible. Pippin gasped loudly at the sharp stinging stabbing through her as her own blade bite through her flesh. Emmy, Dean, and Sam could merely watch in horror as their friend struggled against the hand that pinned her head to one side, the bright light that shone from the wound briefly lit up the witches face as she laughed.   
          
        "Pip!" Emmy yelled, nearly in tears as Pippin started crying out from the pain that was being inflicted upon her. The angelblade didn't just bite into her skin but into her grace as well.   
          
        "You're trying too hard to be Vela-nous." Emmy burst out, trying to turn the attention to herself instead. Vela just looked at her darkly, the shadows playing across the enochian witch's face.  
          
        "You're next." She growled before her grip on Pippin's jaw tightened to the point where nails drew blood. She raised the dagger and cut into her arm, just enough to make her bleed but not enough to cause any permanent damage. Pippin bit back a pained yell before Vela placed her hand over the cut, gripping it so tightly it burned with a horrible vengeance. Vela began whispering an incantation and Pippin screamed suddenly as she arched her back in agony.  
          
        "Pippin!" Emmy screamed in fear before she finally remember her blade and angled it just right to slice through the rest of the rope. She jumped up just as Vela let Pippin go, letting the hunter collapse back against the chair weakly, whimpering quietly. Emmy jumped forward, grabbing Vela's wrist and slicing into her with the knife. The witch screamed out before growling savagely and slashing at Em with her nails, raking them across her cheek before spitting another incantation at Emmy. The youngest hunter yelped, letting go of the witch and with a twirl and twist Vela vanished. Dean couldn't have cared less about Pip or Vela in that moment though. His focus was on Em as she quickly cut everyone's ropes off and pick-locked the hand cuffs on Cas open. Dean barely caught the damaged Angel before he could hit the ground, Castiel swaying unsteadily.   
          
        "Pippin. No no no! Pippin please talk to me!" Emmy panicked as the shock wore off and the fucked up hunter managed to shift her head to look at her dearest friend but merely stayed silent; besides it took too much effort to talk. Pippin closed her eyes in exhaustion, the last thing she heard was Sam's fearful voice telling her to stay awake. The bliss of unfeeling darkness overpowering her senses before she passed out.   
         
        "Sam help me get her to her feet." Emmy instructed as she threw Pip's limp arm around her shoulder,her blunt nails digging into Pippin's wrist slightly as Sam took her other arm. Pippin's head lolled to her chest as they carried her dead weight between them. Together they hauled their unconscious friend to her feet and Emmy looked up, blowing her bangs out of her face, while Dean practically dragged Castiel out of the warehouse they had been in.  
          
        "Let's get the hell out of here." Dean growled as he helped Castiel stumble to the Impala outside. Emmy sighed, not liking where this was leading before Sam and her followed close behind. Sam stopped supporting Pippin long enough to open the Stingray's door and Em deposited Pippin in the passenger seat, her head lolling to rest against the window as she groaned pitifully.  
          
        “Thanks Sam. I’ll meet you guys back at the motel.” She said tiredly as she opened the other door and slipped inside the car, as Sam nodded.  
          
        “Be careful Emmy.” He told her in genuine worry before he left to help Dean. Em started up the car as Pippin groaned again. She waited quietly, taking the long way to the motel so Pippin could come to before they dealt with what to do next. Her eyes darted over to her friend briefly before returning to the road, her stomach twisting into knots and butterflies swarming what little empty space there was left.  
          
        “Why didn’t you tell us Pip?” Emmy huffed quietly to herself before her eyes darted down to her forearm, a strange spiraling mark dimly flashed at her from behind the folds of her flannel shirt sleeve. She felt like she was being watched but just brushed off the slight paranoia as the result of watching her friends harmed.


	4. No More Secrets

Dean paced back and forth in the middle of the room while Sam and Emmy tapped away at their laptops. Pippin laid next to Castiel, the angel simply laying on the scratchy bed until he recovered from the Enochian spell Vela had used on him, much like the one the Whore of Babylon had used on him back during the Apocalypse. He turned his head tiredly to take in Pippin's exhausted and pained form. The silence was heavy and Dean’s restlessness was driving both woman insane. Not to include that Pippin needed Cas to heal her properly and that wouldn't be happening for a damn long time.  
          
        “How can I be sure you aren’t ly-”  
          
        “You can’t. You’ll just have to trust me.” Pippin interrupted Dean as she rubbed at her forearm nervously. Emmy looked up at Dean with a grim expression, pausing in her typing to address the elephant in the room. The bright, neon pink elephant with fishnet stockings.  
          
        “You can be angry with her Dean, I mean I am marginally,” She started, watching Pippin flinch slightly at her words before she continued on. “But right now we have to figure out how to get rid of this mark on my arm without killing all of us in the process.” Emmy informed him, her voice softening slightly as he turned to look at her with something between distress and anger. Dean was actually seriously stressed and had been beating himself up for Emmy, Sam, and Castiel getting hurt on his watch. He even felt more guilt than anger towards the one who had gotten them in the mess in the first place.   
          
        “We have yet to come up with a single thing connected to it Em.” Dean said as he collapsed into the chair next to her. Emmy turned her head slightly, a tiny, reassuring smile plastered on her face. She took a chance and when she was sure no one was looking she reached down and grabbed his hand gently, intertwining her fingers between his.  
          
        “We’ll find something Dean.” She muttered, trying to ignore how her heart pounded against her chest at the wide-eyed look he gave her. They both coughed a little, breaking the point of contact and pulling their hands away from each other but not before Emmy gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Dean glanced at the place Emmy’s hand had rested for that fleeting minute, already missing the warmth and slight security he had felt while she was holding his hand. He shook it off, mentally berating himself for thinking about Emmy that way, before he averted his gaze and locked eyes with Pippin, who simply arched an eyebrow in his direction. She shrugged his glare off and turned back to Castiel, clearly trying to ignore Dean’s heated anger before she managed to speak up.  
          
        “You guys aren’t going to find that mark anywhere in any database.” Pippin started, her voice shaking slightly with insecurity and anxiety. Sam lifted his head at her words, a confused expression spreading across his face as they sunk in. What did she mean by that? Dean crossed his arms over his chest, not impressed with Pippin the riddler.  
          
        “Why’s that?” Emmy asked, her curiosity peaked, which made Pippin sigh heavily before answering.  
          
        “Because I saw it in Vela’s Grimoire.” She admitted and everybody’s hopeful demeanor vanished as quickly as the air rushing out of a balloon.  
          
        “Son of a bitch.”  
          
        “Great so we’re basically fucked.”  
          
        “Not...not exactly.” Pippin interrupted as the grumbling and muttering started and everyone, including Castiel, looked back at her once more. Once she had everyone’s attention Pippin continued weakly as she hugged the pillow to her chest tighter.  
          
        “There's someone I know who has Vela’s Grimoire and can scrub that spell off Em’s arm but…” She hesitated and Dean had a sinking feeling that he knew what she was going to say next.  
          
        “Well? What is it!?” Emmy snapped suddenly, causing Pippin to jump slightly at the sudden harsh words. “Sorry.” Em said following her outburst as she looked down and Pip nodded once in forgiveness.  
          
        “She’s um...she’s Sirius.” She admitted and the room broke out into chaos. Emmy shrunk back as Dean jumped up angrily, Sam behind him, and started arguing with Pippin.  
          
        “No absolutely not! I’m not letting another witch near Emmy!” He snapped and Pippin sat up abruptly, hissing at the pain that accompanied the action.  
          
        “We don’t have another choice Dean! You can trust her I swear.” Pippin insisted but Dean was having none of it.  
        “Pippin, logically, your track record with Witches isn’t the greatest. We can’t trust that she won’t turn on us or make the curse worse.” Sam interjected and Pippin gave him a nasty look that had him backing down from the fight.  
          
        “So? Sirius is the reason I made it out of the house the night shit hit the fan! Plus she has no reason to betray us as far as I can see.” She argued back before Dean turned around, running his hand through his short hair. He turned back around suddenly, looking for all the world that he had made up his mind for good.  
          
        “No. We’ll find another way but we are not bringing a witch anywhere near Emmy, much less an old friend.” He spat, making it sound final.  
          
        “Fine!” Pippin yelled angrily, her voice rasping and cutting off abruptly as the emotions choked her til she could barely breathe as she shot up out of the bed and grabbed her leather jacket, pulling it on furiously before opening the motel door.  
          
        “FINE!” She cried, slamming the door as hard as she could behind her, shaking the shelves violently. Sam went over to the window and peeked through the blinds for a few minutes before he pulled back and leveled a glare at his older brother.  
          
        “Dean…” He started before Dean turned on him.  
          
        “Don’t start Sam.” Dean snapped and Sam gave him the legendary bitch face no. 3.  
          
        “Fine I won’t but I can’t guarantee that Pippin will listen to you either.” He warned as he took his seat once again and pulled the laptop into his lap.  
        The room was dead silent, the light of the moon filtering through the slats in the blinds. Emmy, Sam, and Dean slept soundly, the gentle rise and fall of their chests one of the few indications they were still alive and functioning. A strip of moonlight illuminated Castiel as he sat in the chair across from the beds, shadows dancing with the light as he shifted, throwing his face into sharp contrast. He sat stock still, only moving every once in awhile to get a little more comfortable in his seat as his silent vigil went on. The room was cast into a sudden darkness as someone moved in front of the window outside, the moonlight ushering back in again as they moved away. The door creaked open and Castiel stiffened in his seat, ready to spring forward and defend his friends. He froze momentarily as his gaze locked with the intruder and he took in her appearance in the soft glow of the moonlight pouring in from the door. Her hair was a slightly tangled mess, “sex hair.” he remembered Dean saying once. Her normally dark green eyes looked like stained glass with the way the light hit them and you could see the faint ring of hazel brown around her iris you couldn’t normally see otherwise. Pippin stepped inside quietly before closing the door as slowly as she could as to not disturb the others. Cas relaxed slightly as she undid the strings on her combat boots and slipped them off. Pippin slipped out of her jacket as she walked past Cas and threw it on the counter before walking into the bathroom and running the shower, ignoring his presence the entire time. Castiel’s brow furrowed in concern as he got up and approached the bathroom, confused as to why she had been out so late and why she didn’t acknowledge his existence, not that his pride was hurt. Okay maybe a little.  
          
        “Pippin?” He asked roughly as he turned the corner, not entirely sure why she was acting so strange. His eyes widened slightly in concern as he took in the scene in front of him, what little light streaming through the dirty window panel adding a sense of...wrong to the entire thing. Pippin was sitting in the tub, fully clothed minus her jacket and boots, arms wrapped around her legs while her knees were pressed against her chest. Her head rested back against the cold tile wall of the shower and a steady stream of water was cascading down on her, thoroughly soaking her clothes. Cas stepped in and closed the door to the bathroom for privacy reasons before continuing the few short steps to the edge of the tub in near silence. He bent down, resting on the balls of his feet, before reaching one of his hands in to feel the temperature of the water. Her skin seemed a few shades paler than was normal and the water coming from the faucet was ice cold.  
          
        “Pip?” He tried again and this time she opened her eyes and turned her head towards him.  
          
        “Hm?” She hummed tiredly and his frown deepened.  
          
        “Are you alright?” He asked and Pippin shook her head slowly as she closed her eyes again and took a deep breath.  
          
        “I don’t feel well.” She finally responded and Castiel reached in and touched her forehead with the back of his hand. Without saying anything he reached over and shut off the water before helping Pip to her feet. She clutched at his dress shirt as he lifted her out of the tub and turned to grab some towels before there was a knock on the door.  
          
        “Cas? You in there?” Sam’s voice asked quietly from the other side and Castiel opened the door with his other hand, the other arm preoccupied with keeping Pippin upright and off the floor seeing as she couldn't be trusted to keep herself horizontal and not vertical. Sam’s eyes widened comically as he took in the drenched hunter clinging to the resident Angel.  
          
        “She has a temperature of one hundred and two.” Cas explained seriously as Sam took Pip’s arm and sat her down on the couch before repeating Cas’ earlier action. He frowned as he went to get up, turning towards his duffle bag.  
          
        “Cas help Pip take off her flannel.” He instructed and Castiel turned to do what he was told. As he removed the flannel he muttered lowly in Enochian to the young hunter, the rough and raw words spilling past his lips without much thought.  
         
        "Easy Pippin. I'm going to heal you, that's all I'm gonna do I promise." He whispered to her in the language of the Angels before he cupped her cheek tenderly, healing the wounds she had received some days ago from Vela and bringing down her temperature to a more relativity normal temp before pulling away.  
          
        "Since we’re not keeping secrets anymore I went and found Sirius.” Pippin blurted out quickly and Dean sighed heavily.  
          
        “It’s fine Dean.” Emmy reassured, taking his hand in hers again and squeezing gently. He looked down at her as she looked up timidly and a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Somehow Emmy made it more tolerable and he couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing.  
          
        “Where did you tell her to meet us?” Dean finally asked in a sour tone of voice and Pippin shrugged tiredly as she sagged against Castiel's shoulder, the Angel briefly tensing up before relaxing once more.  
          
        “Bobby’s.” She responded and everybody groaned in sync.  
          
        “Bobby is not going to be happy about a witch showing up on his doorstep.” Sam pointed out and Emmy chuckled.  
          
        “Well we better get moving then. I’m sure we can make it.” She grinned and Pippin snorted even though she still felt like utter shit.  
          
        “That’s Emmy’s sadistic grin boys. I would run while you can.” Pip warned and Emmy just responded by attempting to laugh like she was a cheesy movie villain


	5. Bite Me!

  Pippin groaned tiredly as she struggled to obtain enough energy to lift up her head from her hands. Castiel wasn't present, already scouring major cities and towns for any signs of Vela while they waited for the arrival of Sirius. Emmy paced back and forth in front of Pip in clear agitation, Dean's worried eyes following her movements across the floor as Sam leaned against the couch in Bobby's living room. Bobby hadn't been thrilled about Pippin telling Sirius to meet up at his place but he reluctantly agreed to the sudden, spur of the moment, arrangement. The room was more tense than Pip had ever remembered it being, even topping when Bobby found out that Emmy had snuck four turtles, a stray dog, and a bird into his house. As it stood they were all more worried about sweet Emberlyn than Pippin's ridiculous sickness, even Pippin herself wasn't all that concerned about her own well-being; at least not as much as she was Emmy's. On top of that there had been no immediate side effects from the reddened mark scrawled across her own inner arm and so she didn't think much of it. The sharp knock on the door jarred Pip and Em from their thoughts and everyone's heads collectively as one turned to stare at the front door. Emmy swiftly walked over and tugged the door open in mild annoyance, not quite able to figure out why she was feeling that way towards the person or persons who knocked. Her eyes widened comically as she looked into the piercing blue eyes of the man standing before her. He was dressed in a white dress shirt, black blazer, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. The only thing that seemed to contradict his professional appearance was his obsidian black hair. The bangs brushed the edge of his dark eyebrows while the rest of the messy hair was pulled back into an extremely short ponytail. Next to the towering man was a woman shorter than Pip was. Her lavender colored hair was pulled back into two braided pigtails, the light brown roots of her original hair color showing slightly. Her arms were securely wrapped around an abnormally large amount of books that looked like they were slipping from her grip as they stood there assessing each other.  
         
         "Evening Emberlyn Wesson. I assume Pippin is inside?" The man asked, his voice bordering on a rich baritone tone as he spoke. Emmy snapped out of the trance like state and stepped aside for them to enter. Once she was clear of the door, and the two could see the clearly exhausted Pippin sitting on the coffee table with her head in her hands as she struggled to stay awake before Emmy crossed her arms over her chest and eyed the two suspiciously. Just because they knew their names didn't mean they were safe or that Em would trust them. Sam and Dean immediately straightened up and cleared their expressions to a default look when Emmy stepped aside. Both men apparently agreed whole heartedly with Em about trusting the new comers. There was a sharp gasp and everyone's heads turned towards the duo. The lavender haired woman had dropped the pile of books in her arms, the man only able to save a few while the rest tumbled to the ground. He was bent down on his haunches, balancing on the balls of his feet while he picked up the dropped books with a look of gentle patience. It was almost like he expected this type of reaction. The lavender haired woman stared at Pippin for a long and tense moment before she darted forward towards the hunter. Everybody, excluding Pip, jumped in shock and alarm, their guard rising quickly as adrenaline surged through their veins. The three others expected a battle. Emmy's hand darted to her back pocket to grab her obsidian dagger while Dean and Sam both flinched towards their own respective weapons.   
          
         "Pippers!" The woman yelled, small circular glasses falling off her face as she tackled the hunter in a tight hug. Pippin only had enough time to look up before she was tackled, making an odd squeaking noise Dean would no doubt tease her for making later. Once Pippin realized who had her in their grasp she laughed and ruffled the shorter woman's hair affectionately. The man stepped in and set the stack of books in the table before stepping away, ending up closest to Dean who was clearly not happy with how close he was standing next to him if his tense posture was anything to go by.  
        "Hey Padfoot." Pippin answered back as the woman pulled away and stared sternly at her old friend, eyes squinting slightly without her glasses on.  
        "You look like shit." Sirius stated bluntly before casting a glare at the Winchester brothers. "Have they run you into the ground?!" She huffed in irritation, provoking cries of protest from both brothers. Pippin merely snorted in amusement and waved away Sirius' concern and accusation. She looked up and locked eyes with the man before giving him a lopsided grin as Sirius bent down to retrieve her glasses.  
          
       "Sup Moony?" Pippin asked and Sam looked up with a confused look. Maybe it was just fatigue at this point but he realized the connection between the names Pippin used and the people before them.  
          
        "This is Sirius and Lupin?"  
          
         "Really Pippin? Pippers?" Sam and Dean asked at the same time, Dean trying to stifle his laughter at hearing Pippin's old nickname while Sam was merely confused. Emmy burst into giggles at the Harry Potter references before she managed to get herself under control. Pippin rolled her eyes at Dean before getting to her feet with Sirius.  
          
        "Right anyways let's sit down and see if we can't figure out how to get rid of Em's curse." She interjected causing the room to fall silent, heavy with the seriousness of the situation once more.  
        It hadn't been a fruitful search, since they wanted to exhaust all other means before they turned to Vela's Grimore. Even Sirius didn't feel comfortable just holding the Grimore in her hands, knowing the history behind it and who's it had been at one point.   
Sam had long since hit the sack so he would actually be able to function the next day while Sirius and Emmy had fallen asleep on the table during their research. Dean was nursing a beer and a shitty attitude because he refused to leave the two woman alone with the witch and her assistant. If Emmy got hurt or God forbid killed he would never be able to forgive himself. If Pippin got killed Cas would blast his sorry ass to Hell. Despite the Angel's protests he knew for a fact that he had feelings for the most infuriating woman Dean knew.  
          
        "Prehaps the two of you should rest." Lupin's voice suggested softly,  careful not to wake up the sleeping hunters. Pippin merely shrugged her shoulders while Dean scoffed at the mere suggestion.  
          
        "Bite me." He snapped viciously and Lupin raised an eyebrow at the eldest Winchester. Something akin to concern and irritation crossing his features before he sighed.  
          
       "That would be detrimental to your health much less your occupation." Lupin informed Dean calmly before he returned to the book he was skimming over. Pippin turned sharply and hissed something Dean couldn't quite make out at the assistant before Lupin merely gave a small, reassuring smile in her direction. Dean's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he looked back and forth between the two. They were definitely hiding something from the rest of the team. He opened his mouth to voice his suspicions when the familiar sound of wings filled the air. Dean spun on his heel to greet Castiel when he paused at the Angel's dark expression. Dean immediately straightened up and looked Cas in the eyes, worried about his friend.  
          
        "What's wro-" Dean started before Castiel erupted, interrupting Dean mid-sentence.  
          
        "What's wrong," He began slowly, his voice deepened with anger, mistrust, and betrayal as he spoke. "Is that you seem to have forgot to tell me we decided to house more than a mere witch Dean!" He growled out, getting the attention of both Pippin and Lupin. Pippin paled considerably when she saw Cas in his current mood and she cast a quick glance at a clearly worried Lupin. She stood up abruptly and stumbled toward the Angel, tripping over Emmy's bag on the way over to him.  
          
        "Hey Cas I can explain!" She started quickly, trying to soothe his anger with a gentle press of her grace against his. Unfortunately it only seemed to increase his ire and he flared his grace darkly against hers to let her know that he would not be calmed.  
          
       "Woah woah! Time out." Dean said as he set his beer on the table, choosing to stand between the quarreling lover birds. "First explain to me what's going on. Why are you so pissed Cas?" He interjected and Castiel only spared him a glance in his direction before locking his eyes back into Pip. She suddenly felt threatened as her fight or flight started to kick in and she silently snarled at Castiel, practically daring him to say something about their guests and her friends.  
          
         "Don't you dare tell him Castiel!" She snapped, her voice rising in volume, causing Lupin to stand up from his chair in pure concern. Moony knew that tone of voice and it would be dangerous for everyone else should the two get into a brawl. Castiel sneered at the hunter slightly, pushing any feelings he might have for her away into a dark corner. This was ridiculous! She had willingly invited not only a witch into the Singer household but also that abomination she affectionately nickname 'Moony'! He was soaked to the bone from the storm raging outside but the more he focused on how much he just tried to help the hunter in front of him and how she immediately went behind his back the first chance she had, the angrier he got. Castiel let his wings unfurl in a display of power as lightning struck, illuminating the contours of the Angels' wings. Dean retreated back to stand near Emmy as the Angel and Hunter had their little pissing contest. He had seen the two fight before they could tolerate each other and he knew for a fact that he didn't want to be between them when the yelling started. The sound of a fire crackling softly mixed with the sharp biting sound of electricity snapping echoed through the room, jolting the sleeping Emmy and Sirius awake. The two woman looked up at the scene in groggy confusion. Emmy wanted to smack the two when her sleep addled brain processed what was going on. Both sets of eyes were shimmering with blue-white grace and a huge pair of wings that towered over everyone flashed into existence when lightning struck through the air outside.  
          
         "You're not my fucking keeper!" She cried out, breaking the tension and making Emmy jump. Sirius swore under her breath as Lupin wrapped his arms around Sirius' tiny frame protectively while Dean took a half step in front of Emmy, blocking her view of the argument partly. By now the two would have stepped down but this time was clearly different. Emmy could see Pip struggling with her exhaustion to keep her grace up. Needless to say she had never seen that before, not to mention the soft glowing from under her plaid flannels sleeve that had an angry dark red glow to it. That was not normal and definitely a foreshadowing she couldn't figure out.  
          
         "YOU'RE DYING PIPPIN! DO YOU THINK I HAVEN'T NOTICED!? YOU'RE HURT ON A LEVEL THAT I CAN'T HEAL!" Castiel yelled in frustration and that stunned everyone, except Pippin, into a shocked silence. Emmy covered her mouth in horror, any ignorance about Pippin's condition suddenly gone and now she could see clearly why she was so tired all the time. So drained of energy and emotions and always having fever dreams and a higher than normal temp.  
          
          "IM NOT DYING YOU-YOU OVER DRAMATIC," Pippin paused in her blind anger as she cast around for the words she was looking for before finding them. "WINGED PRICK!" Pippin cried back, denying the entire thing though it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself rather than Castiel. There was merely silence for a long moment before it was broken by the sound of a body hitting the floor heavily as Pippin collapsed out of the blue. Emmy’s eyes widened as she pushed Dean out of her way and ran over to Pippin's unconscious form. She was breathing and the only reason she could find for her passing out was using too much Grace all at once. Em turned slowly towards Cas with unconcealed rage shining darkly in her eyes, the hand that rested on Pippin's neck, at her pulse point, curled into a shaking fist. For the first time ever Emmy burst out into a violent and angry rage. And she directed it all towards the resident Angel who currently looked horrified and torn about what to do. The only thing that kept him from going to Pip's aid was the sudden and irrational terror that had appeared in the form of Emberlyn Wesson. She looked the spitting picture of calm but her eyes held a dark rage that he could practically feel. He wasn't prepared for the stinging of the hit. Cas simply let his head follow Emmy's hand as she smacked him across the face.


	6. Heart To Heart

Emmy swiftly pulled her arm back and prepared to hit Cas again, this time her hand was curled into a fist as she was intent on feeding it to the Angel. It was Dean that took action to stop her as he rushed over and grabbed her wrist, restraining her from straight up socking Castiel.  
         
        "Whoa!" He said quickly as Emmy ripped her wrist from his grip and glared at him til he took a step back, hands raised in a placating way. Her gaze was briefly turned back towards Castiel's with a cold fury lying hidden in the depths of her eyes.  
         
        "Stay away from Pippin." She snarled defensively, causing a hurt expression to cross his features for a brief second before it returned to a neutral look once more. Dean swooped back in and tugged Emmy into the kitchen, away from the scene and the extremely high tensions that surrounded the room. He turned around as he let go of her wrist just in case she tried to hit him for the contact. Dean didn't say anything while he simply watched the youngest hunter as she scowled, muttering threats and cussing under her breath. She could give Bobby a run for his money!  
         
        "Hey Emmy, you calm enough now to talk?" He asked and Emmy merely nodded before sinking into a nearby chair. Dean positioned himself on the seat next to the hunter, his concern showing through his normally cool facade.  
         
        "I'm so sorry Dean. I actually don't know what came over me just now I got so irrationally angry..." Emmy trailed off as she turned her head away from Dean's steady gaze, looking down at her hands as she fiddled with the edge of her emerald green and black plaid flannel. Dean recognized that the apology was genuine but it should have been Cas she should apologizing to not himself. He chuckled lightly as he glanced at her, easing some of the heaviness that had twisted between them.  
         
        "I'm not going to lie. Seeing you all fired up and feisty was kinda hot." Dean admitted as a slight blush found its way to his cheeks. Em shook her head, disgusted with herself and her actions and trying desperately to ignore the blush that crept up her cheeks.  
         
        "How about some pie?" He asked suddenly in an attempt to get her mind off of what had just happened in the living room moments ago while he walked casually to the fridge. Emmy fidgeted with the edge and zipper of her leather jacket before finally caving in. She lifted her head up and peered through the curtain of blonde hair before finding her voice .  
         
        "Um, sure." She responded as her voice rose an octave. Emmy always failed at trying to sound casual around Dean and Dean took notice of it. The oldest hunter grabbed the pie and sat down at the table across of Emmy, passing her the plate. They ate in silence, the tension and awkwardness between them blatantly obvious. Suddenly the sound of Sebastian the crab, from the Little Mermaid, permeated the air around them and Dean flung himself backwards against the back of chair dramatically as a familiar man walked into the room.  
         
        "Shalalalala kiss the girl!" Gabriel sang badly along with the tune before Emmy face planted against the table hard while being careful to avoid her precious pie. The music cut off as Gabe shot a smug smirk at the flustered duo, Dean the only one able to see it before he turned to Emmy, flinging an arm around her shoulder, causing Dean to sit forward suddenly and tense up.  
       "Doesn't that kill brain cells Ember?" Gabe asked as he raised an eyebrow at her even though she couldn't see him.  
      "What brain cells?" Emmy mumbled in complete embarrassment, cheeks flushed red. Could Gabriel be anymore obvious!? Screw how close Pippin was to the Archangel and that he was teaching her how to use her Grace better she was going to kill him. Gabriel chuckled before clutching his chest, over where his heart would be, pretending to be pained by her words.  
        "I watched Father make you kiddo. You're supposed to be smart." He said as he tapped the back of her head and she raised it to look at him with a raised eyebrow.  
        "You just sounded like a stalker Gabe." She pointed out as he laughed. He settled back down before getting up and winking at the two lovebirds.  
        "If I were you Dean I would get a move on. Father knows you aren't getting any younger beating around the bush over there." He said cryptically as he exited the room before Emmy turned to look at Dean once more.  
"What was that about?"  
"Nothing..."


	7. By The Moonlight

 Most of the team was sleeping by now, the exceptions being Pippin, Emmy, Sirius, and Castiel. Emmy was reading Shakespeare's Hamlet for the umpteenth time while Sirius sat across from her, pouring over old documents and Vela's Grimore. Pippin was standing in the doorway, Castiel watching her from his position on Bobby's couch.  
        

"Carpe noctem." Sirius muttered to herself as her violet eyes moved from left to right, muttering more of the sentence under her breath. Emmy looked up in a mix of confusion and curiosity as she temporarily abandoned her book, having read it enough that she knew what was going to happen next. She raised an eyebrow at the resident Witch when she looked up at Emmy and Sirius blushed slightly as she fixed her glasses.  
        

"Um...it means to seize the night essentially." She answered the unspoken question.  
        

"Ah." Emmy said before turning back to her book, back to ignoring the existence of Sirius again. Pippin shook her head in disappointment before she got lost in her thoughts once more. She had been doing that a lot recently, having the copious amounts of time to herself to mull things over and contemplate her situation with Vela and Castiel. She smiled slightly at the thought of the Angel, reminiscing about the past.  
         

"Dean!" The voice cried out in horror and Pippin snapped out of her daze, her head whipping around as she looked for the source of the voice. She paled slightly, realizing that no one had said anything and she immediately located the closest chair and collapsed in it.  
         

“He can’t help you anymore pretty thing.” The demon growled as he languidly licked the blood trickling down her throat. Pippin shivered in fear and disgust as she felt the phantom tongue tracing her throat and her hands involuntarily snapped up to touch her neck. Cas watched from a distance as Pippin slowly lost her grip on reality. His gaze followed her as she took a seat before she unexpectedly let out an audible gasp while her hands flew to grip her neck. He stood up in worry as Emmy and Sirius looked up from what they had been doing at the noise Pip had made. Emmy recognized the signs of what was happening and she suddenly jumped up and rushed over to Pippin while the hunter started to blindly lash out at Castiel. He wasted no time in grabbing her wrists and pulling her hands away from her neck so she couldn't further damage it beyond the red scratch marks running down it.  
        “Get off me! Leave me alone!” Pippin screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks, as she pulled her arm out from the demon’s grip, stabbing him in the chest twice before she tucked her feet underneath him and kicked him off of her and into the Devil’s Trap.  
        Castiel groaned as he stood back up, not expecting her to kick him across the room like she had while Emmy tried to snap the hunter out of her trance like state. He was clueless as to what was happening to her and he nervously stood off to the side as Sirius and Em tried to bring their Pippin back to reality. It was when Pippin shouted loudly at Emmy that suddenly had him scared for the other woman's safety.  
        “Satis!” She yelled in Latin suddenly and Emmy froze as Pip rose a hand, palm facing her, in a defensive position she recognized. Sirius flung herself backwards in terror and quickly scrambled backwards, further confusing Emmy. What about that had the Witch and oldest friend of Pippin so scared? As she turned her head back to face Pippin she got her answer.  
        “Te abdico evita!” She ordered darkly, her face a blanket of cold, remorseless, anger. She simply raised her hand as a familiar bright light started to erupt from her palm. Castiel saw it moments before it happened and he quickly grabbed Emmy, hooking his arms under her armpits, and dragged her backwards away from Pippin's hand, one hand slamming firmly across her eyes so she couldn't see what was going on. Sirius copied the action, raising her arm to hid her face in the crook of her arm. Castiel, being an Angel of the Lord, didn't need to look away from the bright light and he merely watched as Pippin slowly lowered her shaking arm. Once he was certain it was safe he slowly lowered his hand from Emmy's eyes and she shoved herself away from him.  
        "What the bloody Hell was that!?" She demanded as Sirius uncurled and stood up. Cas elected to ignore Emmy's outcry of rage in favor of approaching Pippin, who's head was hidden in her giant, ugly, Christmas sweater she wore. The collar was pulled up over her head and her knees were pulled up under the rest of the sweater. He cautiously knelt down in front of her and coaxed her out of her turtle position on the chair.  
        "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," She whimpered out and Castiel's heart felt like it was being crushed in guilt.  
        "Pippin. Page, ag oi injured." Castiel whispered to the shaking woman in Enochian as Emmy raged in the background. Pippin's eyes peered out from the hair covering her face. He leaned over and enveloped her in a hug, rocking back and forth minutely. Sirius stopped Emmy's rant before quietly pointing to Cas and Pippin. Emmy looked over and sighed heavily before turning and walking into the kitchen with Sirius. The kitchen seemed to be the place for secretive talks lately and this would be no exception.  
        "I didn't want to say anything but...it's clear the marks are starting to take affect on you both. You with your sudden and irrational outbursts of anger. Pippin with these disassociation's and flashbacks." Sirius explained seriously as she turned around to face the youngest hunter.  
        "It's only going to get worse from here. It's gonna ravage you both until you go crazy and Pippin dies." She warned and Emmy's mind stalled for a moment before she was forced sat down in the closest chair.  
        "Jesus Christ." Emmy breathed in disbelief before both women jumped at the sound of a cough. They turned towards the fridge to find Gabriel leaning against it before he pushed off of it and sauntered towards the two.  
        "Not quite Em." He said before turning to Sirius with the most dead serious face they had ever seen him wear.  
        "How long have you known?" He asked dangerously, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Sirius stood up straight to her fullest height which, compared to Gabriel rising to his full height as well, wasn't much taller in comparison.  
        "I found the curses in Vela's Grimore Gabriel. It wasn't hard to figure out what was going on from there." She ground out from behind clenched teeth before continuing reluctantly.  
        "To get Emmy's curse off she, personally, has to kill Vela."


	8. Confessions

"So let me get this straight." Dean started tiredly, running his hand through his hair before continuing on. "You sent Castiel and Gabriel on a mission to go locate Vela while you and your boytoy over there," He gestured to Lupin wildly. "prepare us to take on said witch so Emmy can kill her and remove this curse?" He questioned. Sirius nodded her head as she fixed her glasses while Lupin glared in disapproval at Dean's choice of words.  
        "Lupin and I aren't the only ones to be prepping you for battle though." The lavender haired woman stated as she glanced over to where Pippin was leaning against the wall of the garage tiredly, exhaustion clear in every movement and expression. "Pippin was closer to the sisters than I was. She was also the one to kill Rigel and the succubus Nora." She explained, Pippin wincing slightly at the mention of Nora's name. All eyes concentrated on Pippin and she shrugged before Sirius turned back to the rest of the group gathered in front of her.  
        "Right, let's get started shall we?" She asked as she clapped her hands together and rubbed them excitedly. Pippin pushed off against the wall and scanned the group over, the wheels in her head turning.  
        "Dean. Em." Pip started as she looked the two over carefully. "I want you both to pair together and do some sparring." She ordered and both hunters nodded to communicate that they understood. Pippin smiled inwardly to herself before looking over at Sam.  
        "Sirius I want you to take Sam and go over some anti-witch stuff. Anything you think will help ward off or weaken Vela." She said as Sirius walked over to Sam and smiled sweetly at the younger Winchester before guiding him to a table set up on the other side of the garage, away from the mats. Pippin turned to Lupin, who just bowed his head to convey his understanding and the two friends took up fighting stances on the mats a good distance from Emmy and Dean.  
        "I'll try to go easy on you sweet cheeks." Dean teased as Emmy frowned, trying hard not to smile. She took up a defensive stance, feet spread shoulder width apart and hands up, in fists, in front of her face. Dean took up a familiar position before they started circling each other. Over on the other side Pippin stuck out first as she threw a punch aimed at Lupin's exposed side. He quickly side stepped out of the way before throwing a hay maker in her direction. Pippin barely caught the attack before Lupin twisted his arm out of her grip and grabbed the back of her neck, kneeing her in the stomach. Pippin wheezed slightly as she tried to gain her breath back while stumbling away from her opponent. Lupin looked slightly apologetic but Pippin merely brushed it off as she threw an unexpected left hook that caught his jawline. It was Lupin's turn to stumble back for a second before looking at Pip in surprise. He opened his mouth to praise her on that solid punch when they heard the sound of someone getting slammed down onto the mats hard. The two looked over at Emmy and Dean, the two also sparring to get in some practice before they went off to kill Vela. Emmy was practically panting on her back as she stared up at Dean, who towered over her. He extended his hand to Em, who took it, and hoisted her up onto her feet.  
        "Emmy I think it's time to take a break. You're not in any condition to continue sparring." Lupin stated the fact firmly as the younger hunter bent over, gripping her upper thighs as she breathed heavily.  
        "No! Again!" She demanded behind her teeth as she stood up straight and took her stance again. Dean shook his head, the expression on his face indescribable, as he took up his own stance. She only got in a few punches and kicks before there was a repeat of what had happened previously. She blocked Dean's punch by pushing his hand, by the wrist, away from it's original target before she lifted her leg in a circular motion to kick Dean in the head. He caught her leg, hands firmly around her ankle, with practiced ease before twisting her leg so Emmy was forced to turn her back to him. His free hand landed on her shoulder but suddenly Emmy snatched up his wrist in a tight grip bordering on painful and twisted his arm around, following the movement to bring his arm up as she circled around to his back. Before she could complete the move Dean somehow managed to break free of the hold. Emmy rushed him in a moment of frustration and anger and Dean easily flipped her over onto her back. She hit the mats with another painful smack that knocked the breathe out of her for a few moments as she gasped for air. Dean looked guilty as he leaned over and offered his hand to Emmy again. She swatted the hand away and glared up at Dean, who stepped back with his hands held up and palms facing the woman.  
        "Again!" She growled darkly and they repeated the process again. It wasn't until Emmy looked ready to explode did Sam decide to interfere. He rushed in between Emmy and his brother, arms out towards each of them with the palms of his hands facing each of them.  
        "Alright that's enough. Emmy you need to rest before you collapse of exhaustion." He told her and if looks cold kill Sam would be a puddle of human on the ground with the look Em was shooting him. This clearly wasn't Emmy at the moment or well...it was but the curse was influencing her heavily. Pippin limped over to Emmy and grabbed her hand with the arm that wasn't currently dislocated and dragged her to the side lines to watch the two brothers spar while they rested. Em crossed her arms over her chest and pouted as she watched the brothers before Pip tapped her shoulder lightly.   
        "What!?" She snapped in frustration and Pippin grimaced before gesturing to her shoulder.  
        "Mind relocating this piece of shit shoulder for me?" She asked with a calm tone of voice that would have normally worried the younger hunter. Emmy just nodded once before placing her hands on her closest friend's shoulder and upper arm.  
        "On three." She started. "One..." Emmy said before popping the limb back into place as Pippin gritted her teeth and slammed her head back against the garage wall in pain. It never got any easier to pop a dislocated limb back into place and it was never less painful either. For a while they just watched the brothers trade blows before Pippin's voice startled Emmy.  
        "Listen Em..." Pippin started darkly, her head dipping slightly downwards and allowing her bangs to fall over her left eye slightly as she tried to word what she was going to say as carefully as possible. Emmy watched her as a sudden spike of paranoia and anxiety hit her hard, causing her hands to clench into fists.  
        "I've been thinking,"  
        "A dangerous past time." Emmy cut in suddenly and Pippin lifted her head to glare at Em, getting her meaning across with her expression rather than words.  
        "Emberlyn I'm being serious." Pippin pointed out before continuing after a brief moment of silence.  
        "Em I'm dying." She stated bluntly and it took Emmy a moment to process that information. Once it registered what Pippin had said Emmy turned to her friend with a horrified expression.  
        "No Pippin you can't die!" She protested loudly. "There's got to be something we can do. Maybe Cas and Gabe can-"  
        "I already talked to Gabriel Emmy." Pip cut in abruptly as she picked up a small bottle of whisky, nursing it in her hands as she tried to hide her shaking. "He said there's nothing he can do to help me. The curse doesn't just affect me physically but it also affects my Grace heavily." She explained with a depressed sigh. She took a sip of her whiskey before handing it to Emmy, who took a huge gulp of the substance and choked slightly as the burning liquid traveled down her throat. The two sat in silence as Dean, Sam, Sirius, and Lupin talked about the equipment they would need for the hunt. Emmy tried not to think about the information the light haired hunter just gave her before she stood up.  
        "I'm going to bed." She announced abruptly and Pippin just nodded solemnly in response, knowing that she had a lot to process and think over. Emmy slowly climbed the stairs before turning into the room she shared with Pippin when they stayed at Bobby's while slowly getting dressed into her pj's. Even when she slipped into bed her mind was racing over a million miles a minute and she tossed and turned all night. Pippin never came upstairs.  
        Dean sighed as he and Sam approached where Pippin was sitting on the ground, head tilted back against the wall and towards the ceiling, her eyes closed. She didn't even react as Lupin and Sirius opened and shut the garage door, heading to bed themselves.  
        "Hey kid." Dean said, voice uncharacteristically soft and quieter than normal. They sat down on either side of her and Dean took the whiskey from her hand. Pippin hummed in greeting as she sagged slightly, posture be damned once more.  
        "Dean..."  
        "Hmm?"  
        "How did you handle it? Knowing you were going to die soon?" Pippin asked and Dean choked slightly on the drink as Sam turned to look at her in surprise.  
        "N-Not as well as you think." He coughed as he pounded on his chest with his fist. Once his coughing fit was over it was uncomfortably silent for a while. Each hunter lost in their own thoughts.  
        "Would you be willing to tell us the story behind all this? Why Vela wants you dead so badly?" Sam asked carefully, trying to understand how this happened in the first place. Dean glanced over at Pippin as her lips parted with a sigh, interested in what she had to say. In the past few days the two had gotten much better and had also gotten closer. Pippin opened her eyes and lowered her head so she was staring forward, eyes glazed over as she got lost in thought.  
        "Back before I had met Emberlyn, in collage, I used to live with these four girls in something like a sorority." She began, any and all emotion just disappearing from her voice as she reminisced.  
        "Nora King, Sirius Everlyn, Vela Blackwell, and Rigel Blackwell." She counted tiredly. "Nora was the youngest out of all of us. Next was Rigel and Sirius and then it was me and Vela. I never actually knew about Vela, Rigel, and Sirius being witches. They kept it well under wraps and it was a long time before I ever found out." She explained before shifting to sit in a more comfortable position.  
        "When I did find out I realized that they were using their magic for good and generally hated demons so I agreed to keep it a secret and I decided on my own not to kill them. They had no idea I was a hunter anyways since I kept it under wraps as well." She chuckled coldly as her hands twitched. "Then weird things started happening around Nora. One day one of the jocks that had been harassing her was found behind the football bleachers dead. The police and forensic examiners couldn't even really place what had caused his death. After that every boy and lesbian was drawn towards Nora like a moth to flame, literally drooling over her. It scared her to death and it took three more months before she confided in me what was going on." Pippin sighed before taking another deep breath and continuing her story.  
        "She told me that she had killed the boy. She had been sobbing and hugging me tightly and all I could do was hug her back because I almost couldn't register the fact that this bubbly kid could have killed someone. She said she was so sorry and that she had been starving and couldn't hold it back anymore." Pippin looked over at Dean before saying her next words. "She was a succubus. First and only one I have encountered since then. At first I thought she was crazy but the longer she talked the more it made sense." She broke off for a long moment, lost in thought again.  
        "So what did you do?" Sam prompted and Pippin shook her head to come out of her daze before responding.  
        "What I had to do Sam." She said and Dean tensed up beside her.  
        "you killed her." He said, the phrase a statement and not a question. Pippin swallowed and nodded her head slowly.  
        "Nora was the sweetest person besides Emmy and Sirius I have ever known." Pippin choked out as her throat seemed to tighten from the thick emotions. She had been avoiding this for as long as she could because she knew she couldn't fight the tears welling up in her eyes.  
        "Jesus Christ..." She mumbled in choked laughter as she ran a trembling hand through her strawberry-blonde hair.  
        "She never wanted to hurt anybody. She was so kind and gentle even to the people that hit her." Pippin gasped out as she hid her face behind her hands and bent forward in emotional agony, trying to hide the tears rolling down her cheeks. Dean surprised Sam and himself by putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Pippin choked back a sob as she continued on.  
        "Nora fucking begged me to kill her. She didn't want to kill anyone else and she knew the others would have refused to do it and at first so did I." She said as she lowered her hands and stared up at the ceiling in despair. "God I tried so hard to convince Nora out of it. I told her we could help her. That Vela would be able to come up with some spell to save her." Another choked sob. "She was smarter than I was because she knew, somehow, that if I didn't stop her she would kill us as well as others. So I bent down next to her." She recounted as Sam and Dean listened to the story. Pippin shook as she buried her face into her hands again, completely breaking down into tears, the emotional pain too much to hold back anymore. "And," She choked out. "And I put my my hand to her forehead." She cried before she pulled her head out of her hands again, looking at the two men.  
        "And then I killed her just as Rigel walked into the room." She said before she broke out into sobbing laughter. "As Nora's body hit the floor with her burnt out eyes Rigel screamed in horror and rage. She didn't even let me explain as she jumped forward to strike me down. Sirius risked her own life to stop Rigel, setting the house on fire, in that very room." She said as she calmed down a bit, tears slowing gradually as she looked down at her hands, fingers intertwined. "I knew I had to finish it. I had to kill the others but I just....I couldn't!" She breathed, her voice cracking. "So I ran. I ran from all of it and eventually, years later, I met Emmy." She remembered with a slight, bittersweet smile.  
        "And while I was working forensics with Emmy...Rigel caught up to me. She had figured out I was some weird ass hybrid thing of Angel and Human and had used Jerusalem oil and holy fire to keep me pinned in one place before she started hunting around the apartment I owned for anyone else. It happened so fast I hardly remember it." Pippin admitted shamefully. "Emmy knocked on the door looking for something and Rigel smirked at me and I just knew that she was going to kill her so I risked killing myself to save Em. I fucking catapulted out of the ring of holy fire with a terrified screech, thinking I was going to die. The flames didn't even hurt me. Just the heat bothered me." Pippin breathed in a breath of relief as her tale neared completion. "My angelblade went straight through her chest as I growled at her to never even think about touching anyone I cared about ever again...and now Vela wants me dead for killing her baby sister." She finished in a whisper. The silence carried on for a long time as the brothers soaked in the information Pippin had given them and they suddenly found themselves understanding what Pippin was going through to some degree. The three stayed like that, sitting together in the garage, for the rest of the night...


	9. Highway to Hell

Emmy stumbled down the stairs at around four that morning, not able to sleep the entire night with her mind racing. She almost ran into the door that led to the kitchen when she noticed the lowered voices talking and paused sleepily, listening in on the private conversation.

        "Cas I'm tired of this grade school bullshit. You two have been beating around the bush since the werewolf incident and now that she's dying you STILL don't have the guts to confess to her." Bobby's pissed off tone of voice carried lazily over to Emmy. She heard what sounded like snickering before Bobby's ire was turned upon the the person who was snickering in amusement.

        "Don't even get me started on you Dean!" Bobby snapped. "You need to man up and tell Emmy you love her before she loses her Goddamn mind boy." The oldest hunter warned darkly before there was an awkward cough from the person who had been laughing at Cas. Emmy's heart skipped a beat before speeding up dramatically. Dean...loved her? She shook her head, deciding she needed coffee more desperately than she had originally thought. She must have misheard Bobby or her mind misinterpreted the sentence. She nodded to herself confidently. Yeah that was it! Emmy stumbled across the kitchen threshold while rubbing her eyes before she bashed her foot on the kitchen table. She cursed with the straightest poker face ever before she continued on towards the coffee maker and slipped on a fucking dirty t-shirt! Only the damn Winchester brothers could leave a dirty, bloody shirt laying on the kitchen floor in Bobby's house. Emmy fell backwards and shut her eyes tightly, waiting to hit the ground. Instead she heard someone laughing and cracked open one eye slightly. Dean had caught her in his arms before she could hit the ground and Emmy felt herself full on blush. She was a freaking light house at this point in time.

        "I knew you were falling for me!" Dean chuckled in that really attractive way that Em adored and just...was she dead? Yeah she was probably dead. Dean Winchester was flirting with her and being SUPER obvious about it too. Emmy open and closed her mouth like a beached fish as she tried to get her brain to function enough to say anything at this point. She couldn't even remember how to move correctly to untangle herself from Dean's arms and holy shit his face was so close to hers. Emmy mumbled something under her breath and oh Lord help her Dean actually moved closer to her face.

        "Could you say that again?" He rumbled out deliciously and Emmy could feel the vibrations of his voice from his chest. Em's breath hitched in her chest as she tried to ignore how sexy that just was. If he was any closer they would be kissing. Dean saw Emmy's face turn a cherry red and he almost laughed, instead compromising and just grinning in amusement at her, lust clearly intermingled with it.  
          
        "HeycoffeepleaseDean!" Came the adorable squeak Emmy gave before she shut her mouth firmly, completely giving up on words. Her mashed up speak only made Dean laugh again and she practically melted at the sound. Emmy almost didn't notice Pippin drag herself past the two and when she made eye contact with the woman she shot her a pleading, desperate look. Pippin looked directly at her before shrugging and starting back out the way she came.

        "As your wing man I refuse to help you. Remember to use protection." Pip said casually as she dragged her ass back out of the kitchen only to get ambushed by Castiel in the living room. Emmy didn't even know if the shade of red she was even existed and Dean had an adorable pink dusted across his cheeks as well. He pulled her upright, refusing to let go of his hold on her before he back her up into the table firmly, his head dipping down until his lips brushed Emmy's ear. She squeaked again before managing to duck away from Dean's arms and crawl under the table to freedom.

        "POTTY BREAK!" She screeched in embarrassment as she scuttled towards the living room, only looking back once to see Dean's smirk and hear his growl of disappointment. She didn't look back after that.

 

        Pippin ran forward, angel blade in hand, towards the flames before jumping through them. The flames licked at her skin and she screamed, what sounded like a battle cry but was actually a scream of terror as the heat ripped into her skin. She landed on the other side and with a surprising lunge, she reached out with searching fingers before finding their target and she ripped Rigel's tank top towards her while she brought her blade up sharply. Rigel hardly realized what happened as she looked down at her chest, the angel blade drove into her flesh to the hilt. Pippin's hand and the blade started to drip blood and Rigel could only look at the sight as Pippin leaned in close. "I told you not to touch my family." She muttered darkly before twisting the blade sharply and Rigel instantly went limp in Pippin's arms. She threw the witch away from her violently after jerking the blade out of her chest as she took deep, steadying breaths, her hands shaking.

        Pippin jolted awake and tumbled off of the couch, a cold sweat peppered her face and neck causing her hair to stick to her skin. She looked around wildly before slowly relaxing as she recognized her surroundings. She was on Bobby's couch in Bobby's house. She took a few more steadying breaths as she fully relaxed onto the hard wood floor. There was no why it was comfortable but she hardly noticed it as she tenderly checked her still healing wound from a few hunts previously. She frowned at the scabbed up wound and growled to herself before getting to her feet and slowly stumbling towards the kitchen where Emmy and Dean were. Pip was fully aware of Castiel's eyes on her back, making her skin crawl uncomfortably as she crossed the threshold of the kitchen and she tried her hardest to ignore the feeling. She sleepily rubbed one eye as she ran her hand through her fluffed up hair and stumbled to a stop, feeling like someone was looking at her. Pip turned to meet Emmy's pleading eyes and she had to smile slightly at the scene. Bobby must have finally knocked something resembling common sense into Dean. She simply shrugged slightly before responding to the unspoken plea.

        "As your wing man I refuse to help you. Remember to use protection." Pippin answered. She wheeled around on her heel and tried not to snicker at Emmy's predicament as she limped back out of the kitchen slowly. Of course it was just her luck that karma had to come around and bite her in the ass; she just wouldn't realize it until a little later after she had borne witness to Emmy fleeing, like a wild Pokemon, from Dean. The hunter just laid on the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling as she contemplated the meaning of life and why the Cupids were assholes when Gabriel sauntered into the room looking for a specific hunter. He flopped down on top of her legs and she craned her head to look at him.

        "Yes?" She asked bluntly as Gabriel smirked in her direction.

        "Ready for some Angel training kiddo!?" He said happily, causing Pippin to wilt dramatically. Fuck. She was hoping that he wouldn't force her into more training but it seemed like she was sorely mistaken.

        "Fine." She spat out before kicking her legs out from under Gabe and stalking outside to Bobby's salvage yard.

 

         "Parry! Counter! Attack! Parry! Come ON, Pippin, you're not fast enough!" Gabriel shouted. Pippin and Gabriel were exchanging fast blows with their angelblades in the middle of the salvage yard, while Dean, Sam, Emmy, Castiel, and Bobby were sitting on the porch doing their own separate thing, occasionally looking up at the archangel and young hunter with raised eyebrows but otherwise not saying a word about the situation. So far, Pippin wasn't doing well at all. She hadn't told anyone about her Grace not healing her like it normally would have by now and now she was paying severely for it. The wound in her side had mostly healed but still ached and pained her when she moved too quickly, or lunged too far, and soon her spare arm that she had been using for balance and punches was wrapped around her injured torso in protection. Gabriel, however, wasn't letting up. He sped up the action of the blades and metal clashed against metal, Pippin strained to hold back the blade coming down on her with her one arm, when Gabriel was using both. Suddenly Gabriel disarmed the hunter and aimed a sharp kick to her stomach, which sent Pip sprawling out onto the ground. She curled up into a ball while her chest heaved painfully Lord help her she felt like she was on fire, her leg screaming at her and her previously dislocated shoulder practically giving out from the abuse.

        "Come on, Pippin, you weren't even trying!" Gabriel snapped, absolutely no humor or playfulness in his tone. Instead he looked and acted like a commander and trainer, exactly what he was supposed to be. "Get up and fight me again!"

        "I can't," Pip gasped out from the ground. Her legs were refusing to work and she knew for a fact that she wouldn't be able to support her weight.

        "Don't I can't me!" Gabriel growled. "I said -"

        "I fucking heard you," Pippin said stiffly. " I can't get my body to work and I think you tore open my healing wound. I'm bleeding." The crimson liquid was very slowly appearing to stain her shirt and she tucked her free hand against the wound.

        "It's barely a scratch," Gabriel dismissed quickly. "If you can't defend yourself then how are you planning on fighting against Vela? You can't even hold your own against one angel!" He insulted and Pippin flinched away slightly, her throat closing up at the mention of fighting Vela. She had been avoiding thinking about it at all.

        "Give the kid a break, Gabriel," Bobby called from the porch. "She ain't up to it today. Let 'er heal first."

        "She needs to be able to fight in whatever condition she is in," Gabriel snapped. "Pippin, I said get up!"

        "Fuck you!" Pippin yelled back, genuine frustration and anger in her voice. Distress immediately flared out in her grace as it called to Castiel, causing the Angel to turn around and briskly start walking across the yard to help her with worry clearly etched across his face. 

        "Is that how your parents and the Winchesters taught you to fight?" Gabriel demanded, leering. "It's pathetic Pippin! Your fighting methods are useless and you're never going to able to win a battle like this! How did you even become a hunter if you can't fight," He continued on. "You'd be better off tending to Joshua's flowers." And suddenly Pippin was standing again while the words struck her down, a fiery blade through her heart and Grace. Finally the tears of self-loathing, shame, and humiliation sprung to her eyes and she refused to hold them back anymore...because she was pathetic. She was useless. Her injured side was throbbing and shooting rivets of pain and agony throughout her body but she ignored in favor of  slowly walking closer to Gabriel while wobbling and staggering as one hand clutched her wound tightly in an attempt to try and stem the new blood flow. She was visibly shaking and Castiel was practically running the rest of the distance, both brothers, Emmy, and Bobby behind him when Gabriel finally seemed to realize the hunter's condition.

        "Aw hell, Pippin-" He started weakly.  
          
        "Because I'm weak." Pip cut in, still trembling. "And I'm useless and I can't fight. I can't control my Grace correctly. I mess up everything and I can't even complete a simple hunt. I'm a burden." She admitted, still shaking, fists clenched as the oh so obvious, hurt, distress, and pure anger pulsed from her Grace. Castiel reached her and immediately enveloped her in a comforting hug while the others continued toward the distressed Pippin.

        "This is why I'm going to hell after this hunt! I'm not worth saving, isn't that right Gabriel!?" She demanded, voice rising in volume.

        "Pippin, no," Gabriel said desperately. "Of course not! How could you even think -"

        But the Archangel was cut off suddenly by Emmy's fist swinging around and connecting violently with the side of his face. Sam barely managed to reach over and pull Emmy back from beating the shit out of the Archangel. There had been more tension and fighting than the Winchester brothers remembered. Neither brother blamed Emmy for her lack of self control but they were pretty ticked off at this point. Something had to be done.


	10. A Turn for the Worse

"Well I'm sorry your feelings are hurt PRINCESS!" Bobby spat out at Gabriel as the defeated Archangel listened to the rant from the eldest hunter while the rest of the boys were scattered about the room in front of the two. Gabriel was the closest to the spitfire and storm, standing in front of Bobby next to the table with a pile of books on top of it. Castiel stood uncertainly over next to Sam who sat in a chair, laptop, open and forgotten, in his lap while Dean sat on the couch, beer bottle cradled in his hands as he watched Bobby rain hell on Gabriel. The eldest hunter was less than impressed with the scene that had just taken place outside and he was finally done with the shit hitting the fan at a constant rate of rapid fire. It was seriously just one fucking thing after another and he had reached the end of his rope.

        "Bobby listen-" Gabriel started in a placating voice before he was abruptly cut off by the gutsy human man.

        "I couldn't give a rusty rats ass about what you want to say! Don't get me wrong, Emmy'll getta stern talkin to when she gets back but what you said to Pippin was worse than any shit storm Emmy's ever conjured up 'fore." He told him, anger dripping from his voice and into the air of the room.

        "Gabriel..." Sam began hesitantly. "Bobby's right. Ever since Vela, Sirius, and Lupin showed up it's been nothing but fighting and tension. Someone is going to give eventually, whether it's Pippin or Emmy." Sam interjected quickly before he could be drowned out again. Dean snorted loudly in sarcasm and Gabriel turned an anger filled glare upon him.

        "Something you'd like to say Dean-o?" He asked in the most falsely sweet voice he could come up with. Dean lifted his head to look at the others and sighed.

        "Neither hunter is very stable anymore. Pippin can hardly fight at this point and doesn't get enough sleep." He started honestly while taking swigs of his beer in between certain words before continuing on with his explanation.

        "And I know Emmy. She doesn't say anything because she doesn't want people worrying about her but she's slowly losing it. This is been the third or fourth time this week she's attacked one of us." He finished tiredly before downing the rest of his drink in heavy silence. Bobby took a seat and leaned back in exhaustion. Everybody was so stressed out and tired from the entirety of the situation and it didn't take much to realize why.

        The salty tang of tears was lost a while ago, replaced with the numbness she had felt for the last hour and a half of her brutal training session. It was dusk at this point, a royal and rich purple seeping across the sky line as the light of the sun slowly slipped from her view. Eventually her body gave out and she collapsed to her hands and knees, scrapping the skin on both pairs on the dirt gravel. One thing she hated was when her body decided to give up and she collapsed onto her side slowly so she could finish watching the sky unveil the jewels that humans called stars. Blood covered her knuckles, elbows, and her injured side, both dried and fresh. Every word Gabriel and the others had ever said resonated within her soul and heart as she rolled over onto her back to look skywards. A shooting star danced across the bluish canvas and twinkled out of her sight. Her chapped lips let a heavy sigh escape as she closed her eyes, allowing the slight breeze play across her scorching body.

        Castiel turned back from watching Pippin outside and zeroed in on the conversation once more as it picked back up.

        "There's only one way to fix this and everybody knows it." Dean groaned as he looked up at the ceiling with his head tilted back onto the back of the couch. Yes they knew how to fix the problem but that required finding the damn Witch that had caused the problem in the first place. Castiel caught Gabriel's wings rustle uncomfortably out of the corner of his eye and as he turned his head to look fully at his older brother he caught the guilty expression he wore. Something deep within Castiel pulled and tugged at his mind at the suspicious sight. Gabriel knew more about the upcoming fight than he was letting on.

        "Pippin is easy to predict because of how out of it she's become but what about Emmy?" Sam posed the difficult question and Cas watched as Dean shifted unhappily in his seat before he answered his younger brother.

        "I don't know Sam. We can't just lock her up until we face Vela though." He stated before Bobby jumped back into the conversation.

        "Dean you know damn well that we can't leave her unattended." He said firmly as Dean looked away, refusing to make eye contact with the others.

         Emmy panted rapidly, chest constricting painfully as she heard the whispers of voices surround her in her darkened room. She couldn't hold the tears back anymore, not that she did to begin with anyways but now they just poured down her face as she managed to hide her face in her arms. She shivered and trembled as she struggled with herself to get her breathing under control but it was no use. She could feel the sensation of being watched crawl across her skin at an agonizing pace before she bit down on the inside of her cheek roughly to keep herself from screaming at the overwhelming sensations. She could literally feel her grip on reality slip before she fell into the black abyss below. As someone had once said..."If you stare at the abyss long enough the abyss will stare back."

         Dean got to his feet as he opened his mouth to protest loudly.

        "Bobby is correct. Emberlyn has swiftly been proving that it is as unwise to let her be around others as it is to leave her alone." Castiel finally said and Dean closed his mouth before shooting the Angel a betrayed look as he sat back down once more.

        "We're at a stand still then." Sam huffed quietly as he leaned back and looked over at his brother and Bobby. The room fell into a lull of silence once more as the hunters and Angels mulled over their options and thought through the consequences. Castiel turned to look outside once more before his heart stopped in disbelief just as a scream of bloody murder ripped through the house. Everybody that had been sitting down immediately jumped to their feet, tense and ready to defend themselves before Dean started running towards the stairs that lead to the second stairs while Castiel raced for the front door.

        "Dean!" Sam yelled as Gabriel yelled "Cassie!" and the two followed closely behind their respective brothers, leaving Bobby to fend for himself. Dean burst through the door to Emmy and Pippin's room to find Emmy cowering in the corner of the room, trembling heavily and rocking back and forth as she mumbled to herself. Sam stopped in the doorway as his brother crouched down beside the youngest hunter.

        "Emmy?" Dean whispered gently in a lowered voice and she gasped as her head shot up and she pressed herself further into the wall in pure terror. Dean looked back at Sam with actual fear in his green eyes.

 

        Castiel slid next to Pippin's body as she convulsed in pain and agony, her eyes glowing and flashing with her Grace on and off as she gasped for air. He rested his hands on either side of her face and coaxed her to look at him as Gabriel slid to a stop on the other side of Pippin.

        "Hey! Pip!" Gabriel called to her in desperation while Cas fixed his eyes upon hers, refusing to let her or himself look away from each other. "Pippers stay with us!" He continued before Castiel broke off whatever he was going to say next with Enochian. His voice rose and fell in volume as he spoke to her with but as the Archangel switched his gaze from his younger brother to Pippin he realized with a sudden jolt that she had stopped convulsing and was looking at Castiel through half-lidded eyes, her lips moving and forming the shapes of the words he was saying but not actually able to vocalize anything at all. Castiel refused to look away from Pippin but once he was sure she wouldn't relapse he spoke normally again.

        "We're running out of time."


	11. Promise Me

 AC/DC's Highway To Hell was blasting from speakers in the kitchen while a deliberately off-key Pippin sang and danced, using the broom she had been using as a mic to sing into.

        "I'M ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL! HIGHWAY TO HELL!" She laughed the chorus, the biggest grin on her face at her silly antics. She had been cleaning Bobby's bunker of a house while the boys went out for a supply run, Emmy and Gabriel staying behind to do whatever. She didn't notice the archangel that had slunk in and was watching her with an equally big smile as she continued dance and sing. Gabriel shook off the feeling that tugged at his gut before setting his face in cold determination. He stepped forward and Pippin jumped, reaching around for her silver knife before visibly relaxing at the sight of Gabe standing there.

        "Jesus Gabriel you can't just sneak up on me like that." She said in an exasperated voice, the fond smile gracing her lips contradicting it. When Gabe didn't retort back with a sassy or sarcastic comment her smile vanished and was replaced with a small frown. Something didn't feel right about this current situation. Something just felt...off. Even Gabriel felt off and she resisted the urge to turn tail and run. Gabriel instantly recognized his mistake when Pippin's fingers twitched, a telltale sign of her fight or flight instinct. He plastered a smirk across his face as he took a step forward towards the hunter but stopped sharply when she took one back. Her dark green eyes darted up and down as well as to the sides, assessing the danger and her best chances at escape should she be attacked.

         "Aren't you supposed to be the observant one?" He asked abruptly, the few minutes in which this took place felt like hours. Pippin's eyes widened in shock as her mouth dropped open at his casual question, acting like the past couple of minutes didn't happen, and she felt the need to flee from Gabriel get stronger. He would have laughed at her almost comical expression had the situation not been so serious.

        "What's wrong?" She asked, her normally cheery attitude evaporating as her voice shook slightly with uncertainty. She knew him too well.

        "We need to talk about your curse." He stated simply like they were talking about the weather, and he watched as she frowned, the anger and hurt bubbling up to the surface.

        "Great. Swell. Wonderful. Whoopdyfuckingdoo." She sighed heavily as she ran a hand through her hair in her most obvious stress tell. Gabriel frowned at her automatic response to his statement and he grew suspicious.

        "Listen Gabe...we both know I'm not going to see another sunrise after this show down with the big boss." Pippin dead panned and Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest, unimpressed.

        "Not if Castiel has any say in the matter." He countered and if Pippin's change in expression and demeanor had been any faster he would have thought he was going crazy.

        "Gabriel I need you to promise me something right now." She demanded darkly and Gabriel just shook his head childishly. It only served to anger Pippin further and her Grace popped and crackled dangerously, a warning almost. If Dean was there he would have found it hilarious that a small 5 foot 4 inch woman would scare the much bigger archangel. Yet despite all that Gabriel flinched slightly as she rounded on him.

        "Fine. It depends on what it is?" He conceded, playing along with the hunter's game. He saw the words frustrate Pippin as she took a deep breath in an attempt to resist strangling the archangel. Whiskey colored eyes followed her as she paced the floor in front of him.

        "You have to swear to me, promise me," She started honestly "That no matter what happens you'll keep Cassie far away from Vela during the final fight." Pippin finished as she stopped in front of him and looked up. Gabriel almost couldn't talk as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat and struggled to say words. Had she lost her fucking mind!?

        "Why!?" He sputtered out and it was Pippin's turn to flinch away at the words. Gabriel forced himself to watch, expecting her to just give up after that. He was completely taken by surprise when she looked back at him, more determined than ever. She was stubborn as hell. 

        "Because Gabe! I just...if I die I don't want him to witness it!" Pippin snapped back quickly as she moved to cross her arms over her chest. Gabriel glared down at her in anger. Any normal human would have coward away from the heated glare but Pippin just glared right back at him.

        "Do I really need to spell it out for you?" He said, the anger and frustration that Pippin was forcing this on him finally surfacing.

        "Spell out what Gabe?" She growled out and Gabriel finally broke.

        "Hello! Castiel adores, no, loves you Pip! " He spat out quickly. "He isn't going to let you anywhere near Vela without him with you!" He said, waving his hands around as Pippin took an alarmed step back. 

        "You'll better make sure he isn't within a 3 mile radius of that bitch." Pippin said suddenly, the snarl ripping it's way past her lips and cutting off Gabriel in mid rant. He looked down at the hunter in alarm, feeling the sudden rise of her Grace, what little she could use.

        "She will kill him, wait, no she'll torture him." She began again "Vela wants vengeance Gabriel! She will cut off Cas' wings, strip him of his Grace and slowly torture him until he dies all to spite me! The next time you say something like that again I advise you to take a wooden spoon and fuck yourself with it." She yelled, face starting to turn red with anger and hurt. Gabriel watched as every wall he had broken past go back up and block him out once more.

        "I CANT LET HIM DIE GABRIEL! I LOVE HIM TOO MUCH FOR THAT!" She screamed as she stood in her tippy-toes, fists hitting his chest weakly. Pippin couldn't even think straight at this point. "I can't loose him too." She cried, not registering the tears that started to roll down her cheeks. Gabriel knew Pippin had a violent temper but he didn't expect her to act like this. He expected her to pull a Dean and beat him up, not scream and pour her heart out. Gabe couldn't stand seeing the hunter he called 'sister' cry and he knew she hated crying.

        "I'm dying Gabe. Jesus Christ I'm dying and I don't want to take him with me." She breathed, the anger fizzling out as quickly as it had started and hurt taking its place as she shook her head. He felt lost all of a sudden, as her Grace pulled away suddenly, retreating from him.

        "Please Gabriel. Promise me you'll keep him away from Vela." She muttered tiredly, feeling drained of any further emotion. "Promise? " She questioned. Gabriel stared at Pippin for a brief moment before he locked pinkies with her, dread filling him as he realized he would come to regret this decision.

        "I Pinky Promise."

 

        Gabriel relived the entire confrontation and promise with growing horror as he watched his little bro carry Pippin back inside of the house bridal style. He was split between what to do and suddenly he felt the dread resurface. Something was coming. Something that would completely change all of them forever.  Gabriel shivered slightly as he realized that he was going to keep his promise because Vela had forced Pippin's hand. She was going to kill Castiel in front of her slowly should he show up for the hunt.


	12. Our Hands Are Tied & Constellations

Time stood still as Dean leaned forward and hugged Emmy tightly, her arms wrapping around him as she bunched up the fabric of his t-shirt into her hands.

        "Hey, hey it's okay."He whispered calmly before Emmy straightened up and pushed Dean away from her. She stood up and rushed downstairs, her teeth seeking out a spot on her wrist and ripping into her skin with her canines, crimson blood bubbling up from the self inflicted wound. She barreled past both Angels and dragged her fingers across the open wound, collecting the scarlett liquid before she began etching a sigil on the window. Dean and Sam followed her in a frantic rush as Gabriel, Castiel, and Pippin stared in shock. Slowly the Angel banishing sigil took form. Pippin was still slung across the arm chair while she tried to deal with the headache closing in on her fast, egged on by the fast motion of getting to her feet.

        "Emmy what the hell are you doing!?" She demanded seconds before Emmy slammed her blood covered hand down on the sigil. The bright light blinded the hunter as she heard the yells of surprise and pain from Gabriel and Castiel before the light cleared. Both Angels were clearly gone and Pippin turned to Emmy with a cold fury on her face.

        "ARE YOU LOSING YOUR FUCKING MARBLES EM!?" She screamed while wheeling on her heel to face her friend. Her fury fizzled out just as quickly as it had bubbled up at the sight of the pale faced Emmy. Pippin didn't do hugs often but she knew when she needed to be the one giving them and she sighed heavily as she moved her arms in an outward motion for the younger hunter, who merely whimpered and rushed into the waiting embrace. Pippin lowered the two until they were sitting on the ground. They sat there for a good five minutes before the sound of T.N.T By AC/DC struck through the tense and sorrow filled atmosphere. Pippin struggled to dig her phone out of her pocket while Emmy clung to her tightly, refusing to let go.

        "Talk shit, get hit. Ruger on the line." She answered briskly before she went ram rod straight in Emmy's hold. Dean and Sam exchanged glances before turning their attention back onto the hunter on the phone in front of them. Pippin's face held a shadow of doubt and anger sparked deep within her eyes as the person on the other line continued to speak.

        "That little bitch." She mumbled to herself before she turned back to the cellphone in her hand. "Vela's smart. I should've known she would have allied herself with demons. Do you know where she's hiding?" She asked in an emotionless voice, knowing that she no longer had the energy to be more upset than she already was. At least so she thought. Pippin shot to her feet suddenly, startling the others, while yelling in pure fury the likes of they had never actually seen before. 

        "SHE WANTS TO FINISH THIS WHERE IT STARTED!? I'LL FINISH WHAT I STARTED ALRIGHT!!" Pippin snarled and snapped in a mess of anger and rage. Dean and Sam took an unconscious step backwards at the uncalled for outburst and they hesitated to ask what was going on.

        "Get back to your place and start surveillance on that son of a Witch! We take the fight to her tomorrow!" She claimed loudly before hanging up abruptly and turning away, chest heaving.

        "Pippin?" Emmy asked slowly in worry as she looked up from her kneeling position on the floor. Pip spun around and gazed down at her, eyes softening and loosing some of the previous rage that had been shimmering in them when she had gotten the news.

        "Sirius and Lupin found Vela. We're finishing this at the abandoned lot with the warehouse not far from here." She stated roughly, ignoring the looks of disapproval and disbelief she was receiving. Dean took a step forward as he crossed his arms over his chest. The silence prevailed for longer than Sam and Emmy would have liked before Dean finally spoke what was on his mind.

        "She's baiting you."  
          
        "I know."

        "Then why are you going after her?" Dean insisted and Pippin finally tilted her head up to make eye contact with him.

        "Our hands our tied here Dean." She said, shoulders relaxing as she hunched over in an attempt to make herself look smaller. Sam frowned at the admission before it clicked what was going through her head.

        "So we do what Vela wants. We strike with the last demon bomb and then go in guns blazing to take her down." He stated and Pippin nodded solemnly. 

        "Exactly. It's stupid and risky but she isn't going to be prepared for a demon bomb. Any remaining demons will be dealt with by you two while Emmy and I settle an old score." She laid out the plan in the simplest way possible. The silence returned with a vengeance following her plan lay out before both boys just nodded, Dean helping a sedated Emmy to her feet, leading her back upstairs. Sam opened his phone and called Castiel and Gabriel to find out where they were and how long it would be before they would show up. Pippin looked away from the scene with a heavy heart and a distinct feeling that she was about to enter her last rodeo. She looked up skyward as her eyes closed.

        "Alright Gabe. Be careful." Sam finished as he hung up on the phone and turned towards the last standing hunter. He realized that she was hunting through the kitchen for a bottle of whiskey and once she had found it she held it up triumphantly. She downed a shot before Sam turned towards his own room to prepare for the hunt that was to follow. The walk to the room was done in pure silence and he had that time to reflect about how alike the Winchester brothers were compared to the two woman. They both protected each other and depended on each other quite heavily. He frowned as a thought floated across his mind. Would one of them sacrifice themselves for the other, much like Dean had for him?

 

Three hours later and Pippin was slung across the arm chair, two empty bottles of whiskey besides her, a third half drank bottle in her hand. She didn't get drunk like a normal person, having half of an angel's tolerance to alcohol. She wasn't even drunk yet but she was feeling a headache closing in on her fast again. She wallowed in self-loathing a bit longer before the signature sound of fluttering wings announced Castiel's arrival.

        "I thought you didn't drink on hunts?" He questioned softly as he took a seat next to her and she waved her free hand around while she searched for the proper words to explain why she was breaking her number one rule.

        "This is one hunt I want to be drunk for." Pippin said lamely as she turned her head to look at the gorgeous Angel, her dark green eyes taking in every feature, every curve. How the shadows played across his face. To her this moment was probably more intoxicating than the alcohol itself was. He mirrored her action and turned his head to meet her gaze head on, the ocean blue capturing and holding the essence of the soul in them. While Cas may not be as expressive as he could be his eyes were a whole other story. Eyes truly were windows to the soul and her heart ached as she saw the fondness they held while looking at her. She couldn't take it and finally turned away, a slight blush spreading across her cheeks. She set the bottle down next to the foot of the chair before she stood up and moved to capture Castiel's hands in her own.

        "I've got something to show you." She whispered as she leaned in slightly, pulling in the Angel much like a magnetic would. He allowed himself to be led into the garage with a sense of curiosity and suspicion tugging at his conscious. Once inside she shut the door and walked over to the sit in front of the garage door, which stood open to reveal the night sky. He sat down beside her, taking in the scene of her face set against the backdrop of the glittering night sky. 

        "Do you see that constellation there?" She asked quietly, pointing to the constellation of Orion that was visible this time of year. He simply nodded before she continued, pointing to the constellation of Scorpio nearby.

        "Orion is always locked in battle, destined to win or lose." She pondered thoughtfully, and Castiel grew worried about where her train of thought was leading her but willing to let her continue thinking out loud. Pippin turned to look at Castiel only to freeze as she caught a glimpse of something over his shoulder. Wings were a funny thing. They allowed Angel's to easily get from one place to another in minutes, even seconds. Even the color of each individuals wings were different. While they wouldn't manifest their wings on the human plane, Pippin was well aware that, should she want to, she could see their wings without them having to reveal them to her. Special perks of having Angel Grace. The first time Pippin had seen Angel wings it had been with Castiel and Uriel. She had seen Uriel's wings. The coverts had been a dirty black color, like it was tainted with layers of dirt, while the primary feathers had been a dirty purple a few shades lighter than the coverts. She hadn't liked them very much and upon reflection she had to admit that they weren't easy on the eyes. Anna's were her second. The feathers tinged with the lightest hint of pink and red in the white feathers. Those had been more fitting and beautiful. Zachariah's had been her third, unfortunately. His had been more like an owls' wings, the grey feathers turning more white near the ends of the primary feathers, dotted with grey spots, while the coverts had been a medium gray. Not too light but not too dark either. Her fourth time hadn't been a good encounter at all. Lucifer was often the Angel she tried her hardest to forget about. Like all Archangels he had six wings all together. The coverts started out as the deepest shade of crimson and as the feathers reached the end of the primary feathers they had turned a brilliant flame/pinkish red. Michael's feathers had been the plainest out of all the Angel wings. They were entirely white, even more pure than a fresh snow fall and Gabriel's caught her by surprise. Like his brothers he also had six wings in all but they had been one of her favorites. They were like a sunset, rich amber with golden touches. But in this moment, staring in a trance at Castiel's wings, she knew she had found the wings she thought were the most stunning she had ever seen. Castiel's wings were normal, no special set of six like Gabriel's. They were onyx black, the feathers changing hue when he moved. The streaks of the darkest cobalt blue shimmering for a few moments before seeming to disappear once more into the onyx color. Castiel watched over Pippin's shoulders in return as she found herself lost in thought, eyes tracing the length of her wings. Oh he knew she didn't have true wings like any other Angel. No, but her grace was special, touched and made by God himself. The Grace seemed to form her own pair of wings unbeknownst to Pippin. They were mostly function less, not able to carry her places, but they were gorgeous. They shimmered and shifted, the silver and white-blue adding an ethereal effect to the whole experience. They didn't appear solid like his own. They seemed to be made up of a silverish light, purely for the sole purpose of show instead of function, her Grace reacting instinctively to Castiel's own. He would have to ask Gabriel if he had seen her wings before. He was sure that the archangel had at least once, considering their close bond, one of sister and brother. Cas' hands twitched slightly as he fought the urge to raise his hand and gently run his fingers through the silver feathers before him. Would he even be able to feel them? Considering they were made of pure Grace alone? It startled him a bit when she abruptly stood up, a glint of metal appearing between her fingers for a fleeting second. He couldn't even react to the flickering of the flame as she dropped the lighter onto the oil, flames springing up to encompass him and trap him in the circle. His eyes traced the fire and haze it created before locking eyes with Pippin. Pippin looked away as Gabriel appeared out of thin air next to her.

        "Keep him safe Gabe." She whispered sorrowfully before she vanished out of Castiel's line of sight.


	13. Carry On My Wayward Son, There'll Be Peace When You Are Done

  The next day was filled with a tense, foreboding air that weighed heavily on everyone as they finished prepping for the hunt. Emmy primed and prepped her bow and arrows for the fight as Pip checked to make sure that Elliot, her rifle, was still in working condition.

"Where's Cas and Gabe?" Emmy asked quietly as she set aside the compact bow and slipped into her favorite emerald green and black plaid flannel. Pippin didn't respond immediately at first, her movements slow and calculated as she finished lacing up her sneakers, snatching up her silver knife from the bedside table and placing it into her back pocket. She scooped up the bowl with the necessary ingredients to preform the Demon Bomb spell before finally lifting her head to look at Emmy.

"They had some important Angel errand to run." Pippin responded dully and she shuffled out of the room before Emmy could question her further. She managed to avoid any more interrogation from Emmy until they were strapped, against Emmy's insistence, into Ghost. They followed behind Dean's Impala and Pippin tried not to think about how Castiel was doing.

 

Castiel glared at Gabriel as the Archangel munched nervously on the lollipop in his mouth. The older Angel firmly ignored the pointed glare he was receiving from his younger brother, guilt and suspicion boiling and rolling in his gut heavily. Pippin had an ulterior motive for making the two Angels stay behind, he was sure of it, but as reluctant as he was to admit it he had no idea as to what it was. Oh he had his hunch though.

"So what was the important Angel errand?" Emmy asked quietly, painfully aware of the fact that there was zero music playing in the car right now. Pippin's eye looked at her from the corner of her eye before switching to focus on the road once more.

"They didn't say." She huffed and Emmy turned in her seat so she was facing Pippin, a serious expression crossing her face briefly while she studied Pippin's face. Emmy was far from stupid or innocent. She knew a lot more than she let on and she could tell Pip was lying to her.

"Pip I've known you for years...you can't lie to me about this." She pointed out and Pip's white knuckle grip on the steering wheel tightened even further. Em was almost worried she was going to snap the wheel in half.

"I plead the fifth." She growled out from behind her teeth as she tried her hardest not to crack under all the pressure that had been building up between her and everyone else. How could she do that to Cas? Betray him like that? She felt like the lowest form of scum on the planet, even lower than Demons. Emmy's eyebrows rose up and vanished behind her bangs as she stared in bewilderment at her friend.

"Pippin-" Emmy started gently.

"Fucking drop it, Emmy!" Pip cut off the younger hunter mid-sentence and Emmy felt her jaw drop open in shock. Pip almost never snapped at her like that. Emmy retreated back into the relative safety of her seat before Pippin parked next to the Impala. Em scrambled out of Ghost and popped open the trunk as Pippin face planted into the steering wheel hard, freaking out everyone else as Ghost let out a loud honk. Dean practically ripped the driver side door open as he glared angrily at her.

"You trying to get us killed!?" He snapped and Pippin merely snorted in disgust before pushing past him and slamming her door shut.

"Go kill the demon's asshat." She muttered tiredly while Emmy handed her Elliot, cocking it dramatically for an extra special flare. Pippin accepted the rifle from Em and put it up to her shoulder.

"We wait for their signal." She whispered hoarsely to Emmy as the two brothers went off in the direction of the empty and abandoned ware house. The silence that descended upon them afterwards was uncomfortable and heavy, obvious tension showing between the way the two woman hunters were interacting. All at once there was a bright explosion and both woman jumped to their feet and dashed towards the warehouse at a speed that shouldn't have been possible. One demon that hadn't been killed by the bomb stepped out to stab Emmy, the hunter dropping to her knees and sliding under his outstretched arm, while Pip reached over and smiled him. The two continued on without stopping, laying waste to any monster that stood in their way. Their backs slammed against the entrance to the warehouse and they nodded once at each other before spinning inside, gun loaded and arrow ready to fly. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the dimmed light but once they had the two woman immediately noticed the huge amount of black shadows sprawled across the walls.

 

Gabriel's sudden movement started Castiel slightly as the older Angel stood up and stretched his wings before turning to his little brother.

"You be good now Cassie. Big bro has some important errands to attend to." He smirked at Cas before taking off, leaving him alone with the fire. Castiel looked up at the ceiling above him, locating the pipe that was pumping water into the fish tank Emmy owned for her turtles. The ceiling creaked and groaned under the invisible stress it was being put under as Castiel attempted to pull the pipe down through the floor with his Grace.

Emmy and Pippin had met up with the Winchesters further along in the warehouse, both brothers already bloody and exhausted.

"I'm almost impressed Pippy!" The voice rang out and every hunter present froze in their tracks. Emmy felt the anger and rage building up in her chest and she jumped forward right into Vela, cracking her in the head with her compact bow. The bow didn't snap until Vela growled, reaching up and snatching it from her grasp. She ducked exactly as Pip fired Elliot, the bullet missing her by inches. Vela spun and unloaded the arrow from the bow by pulling the string taunt before letting go. The arrow sailed through the air before finding it's mark and piercing through Sam's calf, Sam crying out in agony as Dean rushed to his brother's side.

        "Kill that bitch!" He yelled darkly at the girls.

        The tango with the witch had begun.

        Vela dodged another of Pippin's bullets before aiming a swiftly kick to the abdomen, Pip dropping the rifle as the breath was knocked out of her, before elbowing her in the face. Pippin stumbled back and Vela took the vulnerable moment to strike out, her nails raking across Pip's throat.

        "You didn't honestly think you could kill me Ruger did you!?" Vela laughed harshly, blindly forgetting about Emmy in the process. When Pippin's hand flew up to cover the bleeding scratches Emmy bolted forward and wrapped her arms around Vela's middle in a tackle. The two hit the ground violently and skidded across the ground before scrambling to get to their feet. Pippin came from behind Vela and hooked her arms over Vela's, restraining her, as Emmy lifted up Elliot, one knee planted onto the ground where she had landed. Red seemed to literally tinge the edges of Emmy's vision, her finger curling over the trigger as Pippin screamed, "shoot!". Em flinched violently as the sound of the gun going off startled her, the recoil jarring her out of her blood lust. Vela's dead weight collapsed onto the ground, eyes dull and devoid of life. All eyes were pinned onto the last standing hunter. Pippin swayed on her feet before suddenly dropping onto the floor behind the Witch's body. Whatever spell that had fallen over the three hunters was broken and they rushed over to their fallen comrade as fast as they could.  Blood bubbled up from her mouth and she coughed heavily, he scarlet liquid running down her lips and chin. Emmy frantically pressed her hands against the bullet wound, between two ribs under her right breast, Pippin cried out weakly at the touch as she convulsed slightly, her hands clenching into fists and then relaxing in a spasm like motion.

        "Oh my Glob Pippin!" Em cried out in desperation as tears threatened to spill over. Pippin's eyes fluttered as she made a gurgling like sound, choking on the blood that was steadily filling her lungs. She turned her head and dissolved into a coughing fit, coughing up a large amount of blood before gasping for breath.

        "I-It's 'kay." Pippin slurred before her eyes fluttered and closed.

        "No! No! I'm so sorry, Pippin please! Don't die!" Emmy begged as Dean patted the dying hunters cheek.

        "Hey! Don't you go to sleep! Don't close your eyes Pippin!" Dean ordered as her eyes slowly fluttered open once more, her chest heaving in effort to pull in oxygen.

        "Gabriel, Castiel! Get your feathered asses down here!" Dean barked out as Emmy let the tears roll down her cheeks. The flutter of wings pierced the air seconds afterwards, followed by Castiel's desperate voice echoing throughout the warehouse.

        "Nanaeel ipamis die! Please!" Cas begged as he ran over to Pippin. She simply smiled weakly at the Angel.

        "Cas..."She breathed out before her chest fell still.


End file.
